Rescued From Paradise
by Jenny7
Summary: The raft plan works and the castaways are rescued. But after a harsh and frightening experience on the island, how will they cope with civilization again? And how will they say goodbye? Updated, Chapter 10 Sawyers Goodbye.
1. Default Chapter

Rescued from Paradise

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost or any of the characters on it.

Summary: The raft plan works and the castaways are rescued. But after a harsh and frightening experience on the island, how will they cope with civilization again?

Notes: For this story to work I had to cut out the part about the Others showing up. Other then that everything is as it was on the show. Eventually will have snippets of K/S, S/S, and C/C.

Prologue

It was approaching Two AM. It was cold and rainy outside. A herd of helicopters were flying through the air quickly and with a purpose. Their target, a small island somewhere off the coast of Australia. It was an uncharted island, but the survivors they had located in the middle of the ocean insisted that it was there. It had been a small plane that had discovered the castaways. The plane was making its daily rounds of the area, full of a family of American tourists enjoying their vacation in Australia, in all irony. When the small child had pointed out the small oval window and asked "What's that mommy?", the pilot and the other passengers assumed that it was just another of the many fish the boy had asked about during the ride. But as the mother turned to look out the window, a look of confusion crossed her face.

"Excuse me, Richard?" Richard was what the pilot preferred to be addressed as. "Do people usually come all the way out here to sail?" The pilot shook his head matter-of-factly.

" I'm afraid that would be mighty dangerous mam. Only way anyone would be on a sailboat all the way out here would be if they got way off course." He explained confidently in his Australian accent.

"Look mommy! That man is waving to us!" The child shouted in pleasure. The mother continued to look concerned. The pilot, now slightly concerned as well, turned his head away from the sky for a moment to look out the side window. It was then that concern flashed across his face as well.

"I'm gonna turn around an take a closer look." The pilot announced and pulled the plane into a sharp angled turn.

There they were. It was a raft, not a badly crafted one at that. There were four people on it, three men and one small child. They were waving at the plane and shouting something that he couldn't understand.

"Well I'll be a monkeys uncle." He declared, making the child giggle.

"But you don't look like a monkey!" Exclaimed the little boy. The mother shushed him. Richard reached for his radio and called in a request.

"Hank? Yea this is Richard. We might have a bit of a situation here. I need you to notify the coast guard about an unidentified sea craft. Looks like we might have some castaways on our hands here."

The tourists perked up at the announcement of the word 'castaways'. They would have quite a story to tell their friends when they got home.

The pilot make one more roundabout turn and waved to the castaways. Three of the them were jumping up and down happily. The other had sunken down to a sitting position and was covering his face. The pilot assumed that this was an act of relief.

He picked up the radio again and pressed a different button this time. "Help is on the way, mates!" His voice was heard outside the plane and the castaways celebrated more, or at least three of them did.

And the tourists snapped their pictures and chatted excitedly at their discovery. The pictures would forever be placed in their photo album and slid to the bottom of the dusty bookshelf, only to be seen again during family gatherings and chances to show off to their friends.

And on the raft, the mood was excited. The sun beat down warmly on a group of people who had saved the lives of all of their fellow castaways. They were heroes. They were relieved. They were not afraid anymore.

They were ready to go home.

The nightmare was over. Or so they thought.


	2. The Raft Rescue

Disclaimer: I do not own Lost or any of the characters in Lost.

Notes: I decided that I would, after all, include the others in the story. Except they never went after the raft or Walt. Thanks for all of the great reviews! You guys inspire me to continue this story.

Chapter Two: The Raft Rescue

First, the helicopters picked up the people on the raft. The man and his son were first up the unsteady rope ladder. The boy first, his father following behind him. Each of them were lifted into the helicopter by the rescue workers and buckled into their own seat. This was really it. They would finally be going home.

Walt felt nothing but excitement as he climbed up into the helicopter. He felt like one of those soldiers in those army commercials riding in it. He held onto the small window with both hands and watched the ocean fly by him. As much as he loved this whole experience, he was trying just as much not to think about what would happen when he and his dad got back home. Home? Where was home? He didn't have one that he knew of. He didn't have any friends anymore. The only family he had was sitting right next to him. All of this toys, clothes, comic books, were all gone with the tail end of the plane.

Even his best friend in the world, Vincent , was gone. He was on the island somewhere, protecting Shannon. He hoped that Vincent was ok and that the other people hadn't hurt him. Walt looked away from the window and up at his dad. He seemed to be off in his own thoughts. Walt smiled and went back to looking out the window again. His stomach was doing flip flops over the thought of the helicopter landing in a new and frightening place. He swallowed a thick lump in his throat and tried to count how many fish he could see from the helicopter window.

Michael looked over at his son, who was eagerly watching the ocean outside of the window. So much was going to change now. There was so much to be done. He was finally going home, back to his own bed in his own house in his own city. But he was on his own anymore. He had a son now. There was a little boy who was counting on him to make everything good and right. Everything from making sure he got a good dinner to getting him new school clothes to taking him to baseball practice. Michael felt nauseous at the thought. Yes, he wanted his son. He'd wanted nothing more since the day he'd learned of his ex-wife's pregnancy. Walt was his own flesh and blood and nothing could top that.

But Michael was scared. He and Walt had had some good moments and some not so good moments on the island. But over all, he felt that a bond was formed. But this was only the beginning. What if he got Walt home and set up his room and put him in school and everything started to fall apart again? What if Walt didn't like his school or his room or his classmates? Michael wanted nothing more then to make his son happy, but at what cost to his own life? He couldn't help but feel that there was still a selfish bone in his body that wanted to be expressed. He had gotten so used to living on his own and fending only for himself that he had forgotten how to put another human being before himself. On the island it was easy, most of the time it had been a fight for survival and Walt's life had always come first in his mind. But at home there was more temptation. Home was a whole other story.

He looked over at Walt and smiled. The boy was still looking out at the ocean, mesmerized by the waves. This was going to be one hell of a journey for them.

Another helicopter took the other two survivors, a Korean man who spoke very little English and a southern man with long scraggily hair and an attitude to match.

"What's your name?" The rescue worker asked the Korean man. Ironically, the Korean man knew the names of all the parts of the raft, but was unaware of what the word "name" meant.

"Hey Jackie Chan, tell him something' to call ya." The southern man encouraged. The Korean man seemed to understand this much better.

"Ah. Jin. I am Jin." He nodded enthusiastically. The rescue worker considered this a moment and then looked over at the southern man.

"And you? What's your name?" Sawyer looked at him and smiled his cocky grin.

"You can call me Sawyer." He leaned back, away from the windows. He had no desire to see the ocean. He'd seen enough over the last month. He'd seen enough of his fellow castaways, or at least most of them anyway. There was one castaway who he couldn't seem to get off his mind. They'd never gotten the chance to say goodbye. For all she knew, he figured, he could be dead right now. Same for her. With the others plaguing the island he had to wonder what would become of her. Hell, maybe the others weren't even their biggest problem right now. Maybe it was the fact that they were all about to be rescued. What chance would she have now? She was wanted pretty much everywhere. It made him angry to think of her having to live out the rest of her life behind bars, just because he had to be stubborn and go on the raft instead of her. Damn his stubborn streak.

Sawyer had his personal reasons for disliking this turn of events as well. As much as he'd wanted to get away from all of the annoying people he was forced to live with, he hadn't minded the island so much. He hadn't minded getting away from his life for awhile, forgetting about the guilt and anger and loneliness that awaited him at his piece of crap house back where he came from. Shit, he thought, maybe he should have burned down the second raft just like some dope had burned down the first. Then he'd be on the island right now, fighting off the others. Maybe protecting her or even saving her life. He reached into his right pants pocket and felt a pair of rather ugly makeshift reading glasses and two pieces of rolled up paper. One of the papers had Freckles handwriting. The other was his own. He leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes.

Jin, on the other hand, was enjoying his view of the ocean. He was happy to be rescued, although part of him worried about what would happen when he got back to his homeland. What would happen with Sun's father? He knew that he couldn't go back into the family business. Not with everything that had happened between him and his wife over the last month. He had realized just how much he stood to lose by going back into the business. His father-in-law certainly would not approve of this decision, and may even stop talking to them entirely. As much as he didn't want his wife to lose touch with her father, there was just no other way. At least none that he could figure out right now.

Right now, he had bigger things to think about. He could only hope that the others had not done any harm to Sun. He vowed right then to make it up to her. Everything that he had done to make her life so terrible, he was going to make up for it. He needed to show her how much she truly meant to him. She had embarrassed him, which had really hurt him deep down. It was unheard of for a woman to embarrass her husband like she had. But, then, it was also unheard of for a husband to treat his wife with such unkindness as he had in the past. He was going to fix things and make them right. He had much to be thankful for. For one, he was alive. He could only pray that Sun was too.

As the four survivors of the raft were being flown back to civilization, the other helicopters were just arriving to pick up the remaining castaways on the mysterious island. But what the rescue workers found was more of a massacre then a rescue mission. Dead bodies lay all around the beach and screaming could be heard from all the way in the air as they were.

"What the hell went on down there?" Said one rescue worker.

"Looks like they've been slaughtered." He paused. "Well, lets go down and check it out."


	3. The Island: One Hour Earlier

Disclaimer: I do not own Lost or any of the characters in it.

Notes: The Others will show up, but in my story things will be a bit different. They have not been warned up until this point, a day after the raft was launched.

Summary: Some of the castaways examine their past, present, and future selves as they enjoy the last peaceful moment on the island.

The Island: One Hour Earlier

"Run!" The word echoed in the ears of each of the castaways. At first it hadn't sounded like a word at all. It was more of a muffled cry coming from deep in the woods. It had gotten their attention, but just barely. For some it was a mere echo on the wind. Maybe the wind blew through some leaves on the trees and made a sound the somehow resembled a persons voice. For others, it was something to wonder about. It caused them to look up from their novels and to stop chopping their wood. It made them wipe the sweat from their brows and take off their sunglasses to look into the horizon for the source.

None of them would become aware of the importance of that sound until it was too late to heed the warning.

There was the doctor, leaning against the tree and wondering what would happen next. He was the one in control. He was the leader, the one everyone listened to. He was responsible for every life that was saved and every life that was lost. At least in his mind he was. He was the one with the prestigious degree. He always had been the one that people looked to for advice. He found this strangely inappropriate, however, since he could barely hold his own life together much less advise other people on theirs. But he did it because that was what they needed him to do.

There was a demon inside of him though. It was a voice deep inside that would shock the other castaways had they ever witnessed it. It was the voice that tempted him to stop doing what he always did. It tempted him to stop helping people. This was the same person that threatened to come out whenever a new sick person came to his door looking for help. There was always that small moment where he just wanted to run away from it. Just run as far as it could until he was away from the constant burden of being the leader and healer and the person everyone needed and looked to for support in times of trouble. He wanted out.

This was what was going through Jack's mind when he heard the faint cry of warning that cloudy afternoon. He was one of the few who looked up in wonder.

Then there was the young man, aimlessly tinkering with a broken CD player. He was determined to get it working again. Everything had changed since the music stopped and he wanted it to change back for the better. His luck was deadly, and he knew he was responsible for a lot of what had put them all here today. Sure, he was rich, He had enough cash at home to buy this whole big freaking island and the big scary monster who lived on it. Not that he would of course. But the point was that he didn't want the money anymore. This thought had occurred to him during a run-in with the French chick. If he got rid of all of it, every single penny he'd received from using those damn numbers, then maybe everything would be ok again. Sure he'd be broke and living on his mom's sofa, but at least no one else would die.

"Damn." He muttered. Lets face it. The guy didn't have much going for him. He wasn't the most attractive guy, although he had to admit that he did have his moments. He smiled at the thought. Yea, there had been moments where he was the big shot ladies man. Of course, the money had helped with that a little bit. Damn the money! Damn the lottery! Damn the dude who had given him the numbers in the first place! He always knew that living in that crazy house would only mess up his life more. But he hadn't really been given a choice in the matter.

Because suicide is no laughing matter, said the red haired doctor who had saved his life. Hurley was in the process of cursing that damn red-headed doctor when he heard a sound on the wind.

Then there was the young woman, midway into her twenties. She was far away from all of the others, in her own little place in the woods. In her hands she held a small plane. It was a child's toy and she imagined that anybody who saw her with it would wonder why she carried it around as she did. The truth was, it was all she had left. This small plastic plane that would crumble under the feet of anybody who cared to step on it was all the she had to hold onto. That very pathetic thought made her want to cry and laugh at the same time. So, she decided to do a little of both. Who knew how much longer she had? However this all worked out, she was going to die. Whether it was by the hands of these monsters they called 'the others' or by the first police officer to take notice of her when they were rescued was hard to say. She wasn't even sure which one she preferred. Quick and painful or incredibly long and simple. Either way, the outcome would be the same.

This island was a blessing and a curse. No one wants to crash onto a remote island in a plane. But, it hadn't been so bad in the end. A little bit of nature goes a long way for a persons mood, she thought. Plus, there was _him_. He was everything the authority figures in her life had warned her about. But she never really took them seriously anyway. They didn't seem to know any better then she did most of the time. In some cases, they were flat out wrong and she had to suffer the consequences. She'd had to endure the pain they'd given her in so many ways.

Sawyer. He'd made her forget about all of that. He'd made her actually enjoy the idea of being an outcast. He'd challenged her just enough to keep her interested but given in when she desperately needed him too. If they were puzzle pieces, they would be interconnecting. Two people full of holes and missing parts, put together to be whole again.

She missed him. She wanted to tell him everything. She only wished she had done it while she still had the chance. Kate was regretting things she didn't say when she heard, clearer then the others, a cry of warning.

And there was, finally, a young scruffy man with a guitar. He softly strummed its strings to a tune that only he could hear clearly. Next to him was a girl, young and beautiful. She was asleep, one hand resting on a handmade cradle next to her. And in the cradle was a baby, just recently born. The baby was asleep as well. The young man looked over at both of them, halting his guitar playing for a moment. He smiled and went back to it when he was sure everything was as it should be. He played three chords over and over again. They were chords that reminded him of his life. Past. Present. Future. The raft was launched. It hadn't been too long, but it had been long enough for it to be seen. Maybe, just maybe, they would be rescued. He chanced another look at the sleeping pair next to him and sighed.

In his bag was a statue. In the statue was something he was trying desperately not to think about. In the statue was his past. He had one solid chord that covered that area of his life. Pre-plane crash as he liked to call it. It was a harsh chord, dirty and sad all at the same time. He played this one chord as he thought about it. He'd made his share of mistakes. He'd wrecked a few lives along the way, his being one of them. The idea of peopling thinking he was dead intrigued him in a different way then the others. He'd been dead for years before the plane crash, but not a bloody person had given a damn about him then. He wondered if he'd had a funeral. He wondered if anyone had showed up.

The island had changed him. He was a new man. His present was a peaceful one, happy and light. He was weightless here. The same feeling that the heroine had given him when he'd first tried it he could get easily when he held that newborn or watched Claire smile after he told her a joke. He was happy now, but what after tomorrow? What if a boat came to take them away? Would his lose it all again? Would he die, again? He swallowed thickly.

"Bloody hell." He muttered. Charlie was playing the three chords of his life when he heard a muffled sound come from deep in the trees behind them.

And none of them would realize how much their lives would change because of that sound. How many of their lives would end, and how many would restart in a world totally different from the one they'd known since their rebirths. They could not anticipate that this second chance they had been given would suddenly be taken away.

The next hour would change them all forever.


	4. The Others

Disclaimer: I do not own Lost or any of the characters in it.

Note: Is it normal to cry when you're writing your own fan fiction:sniffle: As pathetic as it is I did make myself cry with this one. Be prepared for graphic descriptions and a lot of death. Not necessarily character death, yet anyway. I pictured the song "I shall not walk alone" by The Blind Boys of Alabama playing throughout this story.

Summary: The Others attack the camp. Lots of death and violence.

"The Others"

When they came, it was fast.

One minute the survivors were all alone, enjoying the crashing of the waves on the shore and the nice, yet somewhat sandy, island breeze. They were daydreaming about life before and after the island and wondering whether or not the raft plan was going to work. Some were worrying about the four who were on the raft, others were just hoping that, no matter what, they would be seen by a ship.

And when the others came, it was swift and with a purpose. The mission: leave no man, woman or child standing. There was black smoke in the distance, but those who noticed it did not even get halfway to its location to investigate before they were struck down by their attackers. They were fierce and angry and were determined to take back their island no matter what the body count may be in the end. They had no regard for human life, the lives of the survivors or the lives of their own men. They did not get emotionally attached to each other by any means and survived strictly by procreating like mammals do once a year. There was no love, no marriage, no family. The others were men and women similar looking to the survivors, but held a lifestyle more like wild animals. But even wild animals had families and mates. No, the others were much worse then that.

It was Sayid, the Iraqi soldier, who led the exploration of the black smoke. The doctor wanted to come along, but decided to stay behind at the last minute. It was felt that his services might be more useful back at camp, did these people actually decide to attack. So Sayid took a group of four with him- the man known as Locke, the burley young millionaire known as Hurley, and two more of the 42 left on the island.

Kate would have joined the group, had she been at camp at the time of departure. Where she was, actually, was a place much closer to the black smoke then any of the investigative team would manage to get. Kate was thinking about Sawyer, her unofficial other half on the island, when she heard voices. They weren't normal voices like she knew them. They were muffled and mumbled. She could barely understand the words, but they were a mix of English and another language that she didn't recognize. Something told her that she did not want to meet up with this group of people, so she carefully hid herself farther away in a group of trees. She watched as a large group of men carrying knives, guns, and other assorted weaponry hurried by. She knew instinctively that these must be the others that the French woman had been talking about. She had to get back to camp to warn everybody. She slowly made her way through the trees, trying to keep herself hidden while hurrying at the same time.

"Hey Dude, can we take a break?" Hurley mumbled. His T-shirt was covered in sweat and he was breathing heavily. Sayid was determined and walking quickly. He seemed annoyed by the young man's request.

"If you can't keep up then go back to camp. We have to find the source of that smoke before it is too late." Sayid said. The other people in the group followed him, almost in fear of making him any angrier.

Hurley sighed in frustration. Locke stopped and patted him on the shoulder a moment. He smiled and continued along. Hurley just looked at him in confusion. That dude was majorly creepy, he thought.

So Hurley continued along, although he continued to fall behind as the group trudged quickly through the trees. Little did he know that he was doing himself a favor by lagging so far behind.

Sayid was the first to see them. Figures shaped like men running through the trees ahead of them. They were angry and they had weapons of all sorts. He turned pale and stopped in his tracks. The rest of the team watched him eagerly, waiting for their next order. Locke, finally noticing that the Iraqi soldier was at a loss for words, spoke up.

"They're here." He spoke calmly, almost in amazement of the people approaching them. "They're here to kill us all. Run. Save yourselves. Run!" He shouted. The two anonymous men sprinted away as quickly as the words left his mouth. Sayid was still frozen in his tracks. He was flashing back to a memory of the war. American soldiers were approaching at enormous speed and he and his troop, beaten and broken from a previous battle, were in no shape to defend themselves. And as the others approached closer and closer Sayid felt the same helpless feeling that he had on that day. Here they were, five people with one gun to their name. How could they survive this? His feet seemed to be glued to the dirt underneath them. He knew, instinctively, that it was over.

The next thing he felt were two strong arms pushing him to the ground. He found himself lying in the dirt behind a tree. Next to him was John Locke. John Locke had _the_ gun.

"Locke…" He muttered. Locke looked down at him. He looked at peace somehow. He looked like he had known about this moment all along. Sayid wanted to question this, but was not sure how to go about it in the few seconds that they had to live.

"We took their land without their permission. Now they're going to take it back. It is the way of life, since the days of ancient Greece." He looked back out into the horizon, where the men were approaching fast.

"We have to give ourselves up. It is the only way!" Sayid said.

"No, they won't accept that. They want a fight." Locke paused and cocked the gun in his hand. "We'll give them what they want."

Sayid felt his strength returning and he was able to move himself again. He pulled a makeshift knife out of his belt. "The more we can take out here, the less of them will make it to the camp." He paused. He thought of Shannon, back at camp. She had been asleep when he'd left. "Allah help our friends." He bowed his head and prayed. Locke joined him. The silence lasted until the others found them, and they were in for the fight of their lives.

Kate ran as fast as she could. She hadn't looked back since the men had passed her by. She needed to get to camp. She needed to get there now. Thoughts flashed through her mind of the people still left there. There was Claire and her baby. There was Charlie and Shannon and Sun and Jack and so many others. They had no idea what was about to happen to them. They had no idea that they were all about to be slaughtered. She ran so fast that her heart felt like it would pop out of her chest, and then she stopped.

She stopped because she heard a scream. It wasn't just a scream. It was a woman. And she was screaming something that chilled Kate to the bone.

"My baby! Don't take my baby!" Kate felt tears come to her eyes. She was too late. How had they made it there so quickly? She'd run so fast. She crept towards the clearing, trying to peek out into the camp area. She saw the men with their guns and knives. They had blood all over them. There was blood in the sand. The water on the beach was tinted red with the blood of her fellow survivors. She watched one of the others violently slit the throat of an older woman. He then seemed to gloat in his victory over the helpless woman. Kate had to cover her mouth so that she wouldn't throw up.

She began to eagerly search the area with her eyes, searching for anyone she knew. She didn't see Claire anywhere. Nor Charlie. She hoped that some of them had been able to hide somewhere before the attack had occurred. That would be their only hope of survival. She paused her search when she noticed Charlie's guitar. It was lying innocently on the ground near one of the caves. It hadn't been touched. Maybe, just maybe, he had managed to get away.

And Jack was also gone. She knew Jack well enough to know that he would fight till the end. This made her weary of his survival. She would expect to see him fighting off one of the predators, protecting somebody who needed him. But he was nowhere to be found. She felt more tears escape her eyes. Was there anybody at all left?

Then, she heard something. A whimper. It was coming from the bushes to her left. There was hope after all, somebody was alive.

Hurley was vaguely aware of something going on up ahead of him. Despite what Sayid had said to him, he decided to take a break and drink some water. He could hold his own, but he figured nothing was worth getting dehydrated over. Especially a couple of harmless columns of black smoke. As he hurried on ahead, searching the trees for anyone from his team, he noticed some noise. It wasn't quite loud enough to be the pissed off giraffe or another polar bear. It sounded like someone was getting into a fight.

"Hey dudes, what's going on?" He said loudly. The scuffle seemed to continue despite his inquiry. "Dudes? That you?" He said again. Again, there was no answer. Then, he heard Sayid's voice. But it wasn't really his voice, more like him screaming. In fact, now that he thought about it, there was a lot of shouting and screaming going on. It didn't sound like some place where he wanted to hang out. He looked through the trees and caught a glimpse of some guy. He was wearing some ghetto torn up clothes and was hitting something with a hatchet. Once Hurley realized that it was not _something_ but _someone_ who was being hit with the hatchet, he decided to get the hell out of there as fast as he could.

He would go back to camp to get help. Only, he would never find any in time. And he would eventually learn that it was only because of his inability to keep up that he would survive to see the rescue helicopters.

Kate quietly crept through the bushes, trying to find the source of the whimpering she heard. Once she had cleared one bush she noticed a movement and immediately jumped back on instinct. She then heard another whimper, and recognized the source of the sound immediately.

"Vincent." She whispered. She touched the dog on the head and petted him. Somehow, just seeing him here and alive made her feel better. She moved forward more and noticed something else. It was a shirt sleeve. It was pink. It looked like it was on somebody's arm. She began to panic and her heart started to race. Tears came to her eyes as she moved closer and closer to the lifeless arm.

She was so tense that she nearly screamed when she saw the arm move. When she moved the bushes aside she saw somebody she knew. "Shannon." She whispered. There was a line of blood coming down the side of her face. Her eyes were closed, but she was clearly breathing. There was blood all over her shirt as well and her arm was cut and bleeding. But she was alive. Kate moved closer to her, causing the dog to whimper again. The hand of the arm that she had seen earlier was clutching the dogs leash like it was a lifeline. She moved next to Shannon and felt her neck for a pulse. Although she knew she was alive, it just seemed like the thing to do. But she soon discovered that this was a mistake. As soon as her fingers touched the flesh of Shannon's neck the girl bolted to life and began to scream.

Kate panicked and quickly put her hand over Shannon's mouth. "Shannon, its Kate. It's me, I'm not going to hurt you." Shannon's eyes were wide and full of fear. It took a moment for her to recognize Kate, but once she did she was able to stop screaming and calm herself down. She began to cry.

"Kate, what's' going on? Who are these people?" She clutched the dogs leash so tight that her knuckles turned white. Kate became nervous and looked around them to see if they had been discovered. She was shocked to find that the men that were there earlier were gone. They had left bodies, carnage, and chaos. But they seemed to be completely gone. Still, she felt safer in the bushes.

"Its ok. I think they're gone now." Kate whispered. "Are you ok?" She asked and searched the girls body with her eyes once more.

Shannon nodded emphatically. "I'm fine. My head hurts, but I think I'm ok." She paused and petted the dog with her free hand. "Vincent saved me. The monsters, they thought I was dead I think. Vincent attacked them so they couldn't hurt me anymore. He dragged me here. That's all I remember." She was hysterical as she talked about the nightmare, Kate smoothed her hair back, trying to comfort her. Then she thought of the others. She got closer to Shannon and asked in the calmest voice she could muster at the moment. "Do you know where everyone else is? If they're ok?"

Shannon began to shake in fear again. "They killed them. Everybody at the camp. They killed them all." She began to cry again. "Everyone's dead. They killed them all." She repeated.

"Shh…ok. Its ok. It's going to be ok Shannon. We're going to be ok." Kate tried to soothe her, although she herself felt like she was going to break down at any moment. Could she be right? Could everyone else be dead?

Kate tried to think of someway, anyway, that they could have lived through this.

When Sayid awoke he had a splitting headache. It took him a moment to find consciousness again and he immediately decided that he wished he never had found it. Around him there was blood and carnage. Slowly the memories returned to him. The others. Their guns and weapons. John Locke. Sayid sat up a little too quickly and found himself dizzy and nauseous. He leaned over against the tree and threw up whatever water he had consumed before the attack.

Once his stomach was emptied he sat back up and regained his search. He looked around him and saw blood splattered everywhere. It took him a full minute to realize that it was actually his blood that surrounded him. He immediately looked down at his hands, arms, body, legs, feet. He saw gashes along his arms and legs. He saw one large blood spot on his shirt. He touched it and realized that it was actually only on his shirt. Then he looked at his hands, really looked at them. He hadn't noticed the blood before, mainly because there was so much of it that both of his hands were completely stained red. His breath caught in his throat. Slowly, he reached up to his head. He touched his hair. It was sticky with bloody. His face was covered in it as well. He touched his left ear and the side of his head. Then, he went to touch his right ear.

It was gone. Only a bloody hole was in its place. Blood was pouring from his head at an overwhelming rate. He went completely pale and would have thrown up again had he had anything in his stomach to throw up. He breathed in and out until he had regained control of himself. He brought his hand back down and looked at it. It was red, as expected. But there was something else.

Black dust. Gun powder. He'd been shot in the head.

But the bullet had only grazed him. Just enough to fool the others, he thought. They had left him for dead.

He sighed in relief for a moment. He was alive. Then he remembered Locke. He searched around him and saw two dead bodies. They were his enemies. He also saw a lot of blood. He knew it all couldn't be his. He would surely be dead if he'd lost that much blood. The other men did not have enough wounds to cause that must bleeding. Some of it was Locke's. But Locke was no where. Had they kidnapped him? No, Locke had said it for himself. They wanted their land. They were out to kill and nothing more. Sayid bowed his head and prayed for Locke. Wherever he was now.

He used all of his strength to rip apart the sleeve on his shirt until he had a strip of cloth. He tied it tightly around his head, wincing in pain the whole time, in an attempt to stop the bleeding. He then stood up on wobbly legs and looked around. He steadied himself against the tree until he could get his sense of direction. He could barely stand, much less walk. He'd lost too much blood. But slowly, using tree after tree for support, he headed in the direction of camp. Because that's where Shannon was. That's where everyone was. And they needed his help.

It had been fifteen minutes now at least. There had been no movement in the camp. Kate decided it was time to come out of hiding. Shannon was still too frightened to move from her spot in the bushes. Vincent stood by her side, loyal as ever. Kate explained to Shannon that she was going to go check for survivors. That she would be right back for her. Shannon cried and began shaking. Shannon begged her not to go out there and leave her alone. Kate reassured her as much as she could, and headed out into the clearing.

What Kate found made her want to cry again. Death was everywhere. Bodies lay strewn across the clearing. She recognized most of them. People she'd talked to at least once. But none of them were the people she was looking for. She needed to find Jack first. But anybody who was still alive would do. She needed to know that there were more then two survivors of this holocaust.

She waded through the bodies and the blood soaked sand. She tried not to step on anybody. They were still people. They were still souls. She stopped to check a few pulses, finding nothing promising. In theprocess she became covered in blood from their various wounds. She sniffled and covered her nose. The smell of the blood and carnage was getting to her now. She walked to the center of the clearing finally. She stood in the center and turned around in a complete circle, examining the carnage around her. She felt herself begin to shake, begin to collapse. She couldn't stop herself. She couldn't control herself anymore.

And she fell to the sand. But she didn't fall, because someone had caught her. She panicked when she realized it was a strange man she had never seen before. She screamed and fought. He only held her tighter.

She would later learn that he was a rescue worker with the coast guard.

He was there to rescue them.


	5. The Bad News

Disclaimer: I do not own Lost or any of the characters in it.

Notes: Sorry for the late update, I'm a bit sick so it was harder to find the inspiration. But here yea go, Chapter 5. And thanks for all the great reviews! I take all of them into consideration.

Summary: The raft survivors learn of the attack on the island.

"The Bad News"

There were no survivors.

At least that's what the rescue workers told the castaways in the helicopters. They had continued to communicate with the rescue helicopters who were at that moment on the mysterious island. The rescue workers had gone through the bodies on the beach, checking pulses and counting them one by one. They were all people just like everyone else. Some had families at home, while others just had their co-workers who would mourn them only when they had to find a way to cover for the lack of work being done on the deceased's part. But they were all alive only hours before.

Michael was shocked at the news. He couldn't believe that this was possible. They had just been on the island not long ago. Everything was fine. The warnings about the others were not even being taken seriously. Michael paused in his thoughts. Maybe they _should _have been taken seriously. Maybe he should have helped them do, something. The more he thought about it the more he realized how ridiculous the thought was. He couldn't have known that this would happen. There was no way of knowing. And what would he have done anyway? Wish them good luck? He doubted that would have made any difference. Michael wasn't a religious man, but he figured one prayer wouldn't hurt. He bowed his head and sent a compassionate thought to his friends.

He reached over and pulled Walt into a sideways hug. It occurred to him that by building that raft and setting sail when he did, he had most likely saved both of their lives. But this thought wasn't one that made him proud, the situation was just too sad for that. It had been a coincidence really. He knew somewhere, deep down, that sailing that raft would save lives. Although he had assumed that the loss of lives would not occur for quite awhile, if they were to run out of food or water for example. He had not thought it would be this soon, or this catastrophic. He looked over at his little boy again gave a sad smile. The boy was quiet, in his own little world. He had heard that news on the radio, or at least Michael assumed he had. But he hadn't reacted as expected. He was just quiet and withdrawn now. Michael wished he could do something to make this whole situation easier for his son and for everyone else.

Meanwhile, in the other helicopter, Sawyer was pissed off. He was pissed off that those pansy's had insisted that there were no survivors. He knew there were. She couldn't be dead. She'd survived so much. There was no way she could be dead because a group of cannibals, of whatever they were, decided to attack. If anyone could survive, it would be Freckles. And he was pissed off that anybody could think any differently.

"Hey! Hey, yea I'm talking to you asshole!" He shouted at the pilot. "Turn this damn thing around. Seems your people can't tell the difference between a dead man and a live one." The pilot turned and looked at him angrily.

"I have orders to take you directly to the hospital Sir." Sawyer was getting more upset with every word.

"Listen buddy, I appreciate the rescue and all that but I left something on that island and I intend to go back down there an' get it. Either you're going to fly me back there or I'm about to jump out of this goddamn bird and swim there on my own." He paused. "Now, which would you rather have on you're conscience? A drowned man or some _forgotten_ orders captain?" He reached for the hatch and touched the lever which would throw it open.

Sawyer was shocked when Mr. Miagi, of all people, shouted something at them. He smiled after a moment, finding himself to be quite proud of his fellow castaway. He turned back to the pilot and smirked.

"Or I can always get Jackie Chan over here to kick your ass when we land. He's a scary looking guy isn't he? He can split a whole freakin tree with his bare hands. Bet he could do some fun stuff with someone as soft as you my boy."

A minute later they were well on their way back to the island.

Sawyer kept his fingers on the cold steel handle of the gun. He'd kept it, even after they'd been rescued. He figured it might come in handy at some point. It was concealed in his pants currently, but he would not hesitate to pull it out should he run into any trouble. It was security to him, but if he noticed any of those savages still on the island doing their damage, it would be their death.

And it was then that he realized, for _her_ he would kill again.

Jin was having a hard time realizing what was going on around him. He knew that there was something wrong. Sawyer was angry, but that wasn't so unusual. Still, he had never seen Sawyer this angry before. And there had been a transmission over the radio of the helicopter. He'd thought he'd heard the word "dead" somewhere. He knew that word because it was his business. He'd heard it spoken in the living rooms of the men he had killed. It was spoken by their wives and children and mothers and fathers. He'd heard it enough to know that it meant something very bad. He knew that it always brought devastation upon those who spoke of it.

He wondered about his wife. He wondered if she was dead. Tears came to his eyes at the thought. He loved Sun. She was the love of his life. He would give it all up if he could only see her again. The thought of something happening to her made him angry. It was an anger deeper then he had ever felt before He knew that if someone had harmed her in any way he would personally rip the hair out of their heads one by one and give them the most painful torturous death possible. It would be one murder that he would not feel guilty about. He felt himself getting more and more agitated by the minute. He wanted to be with Sun right now. And Sawyer's shouting was not helping his agitation.

"Stop it!" He shouted in his native language. Of course the other men in the helicopter had no idea what he was shouting at them. Sawyer looked at him with a confused and angry expression. He then sat back in his seat and the helicopter eventually turned around. At first Jin panicked, wondering why they were going back. But they he realized that he had to go find his wife. She was on the island, so that's where he would go.

He closed his eyes and thought about Sun. He would find her if it was the last thing he did.


	6. Rescued

Disclaimer: I do not own Lost or any of the characters on it.

Notes: I couldn't leave you guys hanging anymore. This chapter will answer most of your questions. There is character death unfortunately. I hate to do it but it seemed like it had to be done.

Summary: The survivors of the attack awake to a new reality.

"Rescued From Death"

Kate had screamed and fought and did everything she could to get away from the rescue workers. They said it was because she was in shock after witnessing so much devastation. She knew better. She knew it was because they _were_ rescue workers. Kate didn't want to be rescued. She thought she was the only one on the island who felt that way, but she would soon learn otherwise.

She was currently sitting inside of a helicopter. The rescue workers had insisted that she stay there while they searched the island for other survivors. Next to her was Shannon. Shannon was quiet for once in her life. It had taken two strong guys to get her into the helicopter and away from Vincent. She was a strong girl when she wanted to be. She was in shock though, and very much afraid of everything that moved. Kate tried to stay still around her. She'd figured out that talking didn't help and she didn't mind the silence because she didn't have much to talk about anyway.

Kate wasn't thinking about the prison term she might face. She wasn't even thinking about Jack and her other friends who were missing. What she was thinking about, was Sawyer. She couldn't seem to forget the moment they'd parted ways. There never really had been a goodbye, just a fight like always. He'd betrayed her secret. She had been angry of course. But more then anything she was heartbroken. She'd felt like she could trust Sawyer above anyone else on the island for the sole reason that he, too, had secrets to keep. She had never told any of his secrets. Only a heartless person would do that, especially when the secret was so dark and traumatic.

Kate felt tears coming down her cheeks but didn't bother to wipe them away. If she looked out the window she would see the dead bodies being bagged up by the arriving rescue workers in boats. She didn't want to see that. She realized, for the first time, that they were not on the same part of the beach now that they had lived on. It was like they had run all the way to here before they were slaughtered. Which meant they had to have had a warning of some kind.

She heard a familiar voice and looked out the window.

Sayid was very nearly dead. He felt himself fading more and more as he approached the camp. He had lost so much blood during the attack. His head was beginning to clot, he felt, thanks to the bandage he had made. But it was still trickling blood. Head wounds were the worst. Even the smallest gash in the head would bleed for hours. Sayid had a huge gash and as the shock had begun to fade he realized that he could not hear out of that side and was in extreme pain as well.

He wondered how everyone else had made it through this disaster, if anyone had actually made it through alive. He'd taken out two of the others. Two of many. He couldn't even think that he might have made a difference. It was truly pathetic, he felt

When he heard voices, he stopped. There were people there. They were crying and talking in low voices. It couldn't be the others. The others would not be whispering. They obviously had the upper hand in this attack and would not be afraid of being seen at any cost. Sayid approached the tree crowded area of the beach. There was a large rock formation there. Upon closer inspection he would find that the rock had an area carved out of it on one side. That area would make a great hiding place for those who needed one desperately.

Sayid walked along the boulder, leaving bloody handprints on its side. He called out. "Hey, is somebody in there?" A moment of silence went by and Sayid considered the fact that maybe he should leave before whatever it was attacked him. He couldn't survive another wound. But then, a familiar voice answered.

"Sayid?" The man asked. Sayid walked closer to the grove and found that Jack was there. He was injured and bleeding from the head. He had scratches up and down his arms. But he was alive.

"Jack, are you ok?" He asked and couldn't resist giving his comrade a friendly hug. Jack pulled back and looked Sayid over. He paled as he looked.

"Sayid, your head…" He paused. "Come on, come over here." Sayid was led into the small area in the rock formation. It was a small cave like area which would only comfortably hold about four people. Currently, there were six people here. "I was able," Jack began again, "to save my medical kit. I have some bandages and peroxide. I used the last of the stitches on Claire though."

Sayid stopped and looked around the cave. Claire was there, but her baby wasn't. She looked very run down and pale. She had a man-made splint on her wrist and seemed to be in a lot of pain. She had a large stab wound on her left arm, but it had already been stitched up. She had been crying and it was easy to see that she was still fighting tears.

Sun was there too. She had been shot in the shoulder. She leaned against the wall and had her eyes closed. Her face was bloody as if she had been punched and her clothes were torn and barely covered her. At the moment another castaway was putting pressure on her shoulder wound. Every now and then she would turn her head and moan, or accept a drink of water from someone who offered one. Mostly she just laid there in a half sleep state. Sayid was worried about her condition.

He looked around closely. He didn't see Shannon.

Jack, noticing Sayid's reaction, spoke up. "We grabbed the people we could find and brought them here. We figured that hiding would be our best chance of survival. We looked, but she couldn't find Shannon. " He paused as Sayid took in this information. Sayid nodded for him to go on. "Have you seen Locke or Hurley anywhere Sayid?"

Sayid, feeling unsteady, seated himself in a free space on the ground. Jack knelt next to him and carefully removed the cloth bandage. Sayid winced as Jack explored the wound.

"Sayid, this is a bullet wound." Jack said in shock.

"Yes. I know." Sayid replied. Jack still seemed amazed.

"I guess one of us has some luck at least." Jack said after a moment of exploring. "It just grazed your skull. You've lost a lot of blood though."

"Yes. We were able to take down two of the others when they attacked. But they overpowered us. I have not seen Locke or Hurley since before the attack. They were both gone when I woke up, but there was blood everywhere."

Jack nodded knowingly. Sayid wanted to tell him that he didn't know, that he couldn't know unless he had been there and saw the devastation.

"What about the rest of us?" Sayid asked, wincing as Jack cleaned his wound. "Have you seen anyone else alive?"

"No." There was a hint of worry in his voice. "Charlie went after the man who took Claire's baby. We haven't seen him since. Kate wasn't at camp when they attacked." He paused. "We're going to die, Sayid, if we don't get off this island soon."

Sayid knew he was right. Most of the people here were seriously injured and barely holding on. The blood loss was incredible and there would be no one healthy enough to donate even if they did have the medical supplies to do so. If some of them happened to miraculously survive this attack, there would surely be a next one in another day or so, after the others could gather their strength again. They were as good as dead if they stayed here. Their only hope, was for a rescue.

Off in the jungle stood another survivor. He was sitting on the ground, trying to get his bearings. He had intended to go back to camp but had lost his way and was now lost in the middle of the jungle. He had watched at the others left the camp and gone home, wherever their home was. He'd gone back to the place where he'd last seen Sayid and Locke, but neither of them were there. He didn't know whether that was a good sign or a bad sign.

Hurley drank the last of the water he had left and sighed. "Dude, this sucks." He said out loud to nobody.

Suddenly, he heard thrashing coming from the bushes behind him. He turned around just in time to see somebody fall to the ground. "Dude!" He shouted and jumped back. He didn't know who it was and if he had known that he would have known whether just to kick the bastard in the head right there or go try to help them. Then, he heard a moan and knew what to do.

"Dude, what happened to you?" He knelt down on the ground next to Charlie. Charlie lay in a fetal position on the ground, clutching something to his chest. He breathed heavily in and out and seemed to be only halfway conscious. He was beat up in the face and the entire back of his shirt was ripped up as if someone had taken a knife to it. He was sweating and covered in dirt and sand from head to toe.

"Hurley…" Charlie finally managed to whisper his name. "Take him." Hurley was confused.

"Dude, take who?" He asked, trying not to sound too stupid. Suddenly Charlie let go of his tight grip on the thing in his arms, and Hurley saw who 'he' was.

"Hey it's the baby." When he noticed that Charlie was about to drop it, he reached out and quickly caught it. "You ok turnip head?" Hurley checked the baby over, but he looked unharmed. The baby began to cry and he suddenly lost all knowledge he'd ever had of how to make a baby stop crying.

"Charlie, are you ok man?" Hurley knelt down by him again. Charlie was still in the same position on the ground. Now that the baby was out of his hands it was easier to see where he'd been wounded. His shirt had hiked up when he fell and his stomach and chest were clearly bruised. Hurley had seen this before. The gangs in his neighborhood used to do this kind of stuff all the time. He would have bet that Charlie had a few broken ribs.

"Can't….breath." Charlie whispered. He was holding his chest. Hurley began to panic. The dude was obviously having a hard time of it. And Hurley knew little about first aid and that sort of thing.

"Dude, I'm gonna go find Jack." He turned but then thought to say something else. "Um…don't move or anything, ok? Thanks."

He ran off, a crying baby in his arms, in search of the doctor.

"We found another one." Two rescue workers emerged from the trees carrying another body. Kate allowed herself to look out the window and noticed that they already had the body in a body bag. She quickly turned away. She knew she couldn't stay here. Sooner or later one of them would recognize her. She had to find a way to get away.

Her plans were put on hold when one of the men came up to the helicopter and peeked in the open door. "Listen, we need someone to help us identify some of these bodies. We got reports of a fugitive on board your airline and we have to look for her." He stopped and pointed at Kate. "You." Kate tensed. "Can you help us identify some of these people?" Kate slowly stood up.

"Sure. Anything to help." She allowed him to help her out of the helicopter, leaving Shannon behind. She didn't think she had to worry about Shannon. She was too upset to say anything at the moment.

Slowly, she was escorted around the area. She was shown body after body. Most of them she only knew their first name. But one, unfortunately, she did know.

"Its Locke. His name is John Locke." The man had been badly beaten. He had a bullet hole in his head. But there was something about his eyes. They were still open. And his mouth was curled into something that resembled a smile. He had accepted his death, Kate could see it. She listened to the waves in the background and closed her eyes in remembrance of her friend. She was startled out of her moment of silence by another helicopter up ahead.

They forced her to move on quickly. Body after body, she never saw her friends. She was beginning to regain hope of their survival. Then, they came across the body of a young women. She was in her late twenties maybe with long brunette hair and pale skin. She was strikingly similar to Kate in many ways.

"Did you know her mam?" The rescue worker asked. Kate had never seen her before in her life. She looked the woman over, wondering how'd she missed knowing someone who was so similar to her. Then she realized it. The woman's clothes were not normal clothes. They were like the clothes the others had worn, bedraggled and worn. The woman had been shot. There was one bullet hole square in the middle of her head. Kate wondered, momentarily, if it was from a state issued marshal's gun.

"Maam?" The rescue worker prodded. Kate went over and over it in her mind. She wondered if she should, if she even could. Was it possible? She wondered if maybe she should just come clean and face it all. She felt defeated and could not speak.

"Kate. Her name's Kate officer." A voice said from off to her left. Kate looked up and her eyes widened. "I knew her. I thought she was a great gal, if you don't mind the whole criminal record thing of course. Too bad she didn't make it." Sawyer walked up to them. He looked over Kate from head to toe. She looked up at him nervously.

"And who are you sir?" The men asked Sawyer. He never took his eyes off of Kate. She never took her eyes off of him either.

"The name's Sawyer. I was on the raft." He replied. "Wish I'd been here though. I'm always game for a good fight." Kate smiled at his remark. She knew how to read Sawyer's subtext by now.

And from their left came another stretcher. This one had a young rock star on it. He was beaten and broken, but he still found the energy to smile when he passed them. Behind them was a chubby young man holding a tiny infant. The baby was sleeping his arms. It was an adorable sight to be seen.

And there was the Korean man, wandering the beach aimlessly hoping to find the love of his life.

And finally, there was the rescue worker who came running out from the bushes to their left.

"We found some live ones sir! A whole group of 'em!"


	7. A Childs Eyes

Disclaimer: I do not own Lost or any of the characters in it..

Notes: Thank you for all of the great reviews. I apologize for this being so late. Unfortunately real life has gotten in the way of my writing and I've been working a lot of hours. But I promise to keep updating as often as I possibly can!

Summary: The survivors are at the hospital, and Walt looks around at what the island has done to his friends.

"A Childs Eyes"

He sat on a stretcher, swinging his legs back and forth effortlessly. They had arrived at the hospital forever ago and Walt was so far really enjoying himself. There was a pretty nurse who had checked his heart and his eyes. She reminded him of his mom. He really missed her. He wished that he could be back in Australia with her now, instead of in this hospital. The island had been fun, but he knew that it was not something that could last forever. The island was dangerous and there were people who wanted to hurt them there. He also knew that they had hurt some of them. Walt frowned at the image of all of the dead people on the island. He knew they were safe now though, at least most of them were.

The nurse stopped her exam finally and smiled at him. He smiled back. She said something about dehydration and said she had to go get something so that she could make him better. Walt found this funny since he didn't feel sick at all. Once she was gone he was all alone. His dad was gone. The nurses had taken him to a separate room to be examined. Walt didn't mind though. He knew he would see his dad again soon. His dad, Walt knew, did not like being so far away from him. Walt had promised that he would be good for the doctors and nurses and not get into any trouble.

But Walt got bored. He jumped off of the stretcher and casually wandered around the emergency room. There were lots of rooms with lots of sick people. All of the rooms had curtains in front of them instead of doors. Walt stopped at one curtain and peeked through. Here he saw the nice man who had been on the raft with them. Jin was arguing with the nurse, who was trying to put a needle in his arm. Walt winced and looked away. He hated needles. He continued to listen and when he heard the nurse stop arguing with the patient he quickly moved away from the opening.

A moment later she broke through the curtain, shaking her head in annoyance.

The nurse walked to the counter in a huff. "Does anyone have the number of a Korean translator?"

Another nurse walked up to her and took chart. "He has a wife in Trauma A. She's not conscious though. You'll have to make due for now."

Walt just listened to their conversation for awhile, content to be somewhere more interesting then that tiny white room. As soon as their words became boring again Walt decided to see what else he could find. He wandered farther down the hallway, stopping at each curtain to look inside. When he came to a room marked Trauma A, he stopped. This room had a clear sliding door. He touched it and felt the cold glass on his palm.

He noticed a man in a lab coat inside. He was bandaging up the head of a woman, who was lying on the exam table. She was wearing only her underwear and Walt quickly looked away out of respect. He listened to what was going on inside.

"Hey Dr. Dean. How is she?" Said a woman's voice.

"She's lost a lot of blood. She's going to need surgery to get the bullet out. But I think she'll pull through." He explained.

"I've got her husband in Exam 3. He doesn't speak any English and won't let me put an IV in to hydrate him."

"Try the service number. Maybe they can send over a translator. She won't be waking up for awhile." Walt looked back and saw the doctor step away from the bed. He saw that it was Sun in the bed. Poor Sun. He hoped that she'd be ok. He was pushed aside as two men in green scrubs opened up the doors and walked in.

"Transport. We're here to take the patient to surgery." They stated loudly.

"She's all yours boys." The doctor said, and walked to the waste bin and deposited his gloves inside.

Walt backed away from the door and stumbled as he ran into something from behind.

"Coming through!" Walt found himself pushed up against the wall as two men in blue shirts and pants pushed past. They were pushing a large bed on wheels and Walt was intrigued. He stood on his toes until he could see onto the top of the bed, and found that it was Sayid lying on it. It didn't look like Sayid though. His head was wrapped in bandages and he had a lot of bruises all over. He was wearing a tube under his nose for some reason. And he had a tube going from his arm to a bag of what looked like blood on the pole next to him. His eyes were closed.

"Sayid!" Walt called out.

"Go back to your room kid." One of the men said back to him. He watched the bed go by until it turned the corner towards the elevators. He felt very sad. He knew that people were going to be hurt, but not like this. He liked Charlie, he thought he was funny. He looked to his right when he heard a voice say something that intrigued him.

"Hey, is she one of those plane crash people?" It was another man in a blue shirt and pants. He was holding a clipboard and talking to a woman in a funny Garfield shirt.

"Sure is. Who knew they'd turn up on our turf huh?" The woman replied. "She's in Exam 5."

The man walked past the nurse and out into the hallway. Walt found himself following him, wanting to know who they were talking about. The man seemed happy. He was smiling. He made a left turn near the end of the hallway, walking past a large burly man on a stretcher. Walt recognized the man immediately.

"Hey dude, can I get some service here?" Hurley shouted at the doctor, but he ignored him and kept walking. He continued into the room next to where Hurley sat. Walt smiled at Hurley as he walked by.

"Hey Hurley." He said.

"Hey little man. How's it going?" Hurley was wearing a white gown just like his own, Walt thought. He wondered if Hurley was sick too.

"OK I guess. Are you sick Hurley?" He asked. Hurley shook his head.

"Naw dude, I'm fine. But I could use a meal anytime now!" He said loudly. Walt laughed.

"See ya Hurley." He said, and started towards the room the doctor had entered.

"Bye little dude." Hurley shifted on the bed and nearly fell off of it. This made Walt smile.

Walt heard a conversation going on and stopped at the opening in the curtain. He listened.

"Hello Mrs. Littleton" He heard the doctors voice say. He chanced a peek inside to find a young blonde girl sitting on the bed. It was Claire. She was wearing one of those gowns too. She was holding the baby in her arms.

"Oh it's miss actually." She looked down at the baby. "I'm a single parent, not by choice of course. But who am I to challenge what fate has given me right?" The doctor smiled and sat down on a stool in front of her. Walt didn't like him for some reason.

"Well it seems that its brought you on quite a journey so far. Does he have a name?" He reached out to touch the baby, but Claire pulled him back before he could. She looked up at him cautiously. Walt noticed a hint of fear in her eyes.

"His name is Aaron." Claire looked like she was going to cry. Walt wanted to go hug her, but stopped himself. "And don't' try to make me put him down because I won't. Not ever again." She looked up at him with emphasis.

The doctor moved back slowly, he looked afraid, Walt though."I understand." He reached for his stethoscope and put it on. "Would you mind if I listened to Aaron's heartbeat then? I need to make sure that he is healthy."

Walt watched as Claire seemed to consider this a moment.

"Well…ok." She let go of her son just long enough for the doctor to place his stethoscope on his chest. He kept it there for a few moments and then withdrew it. "How is he?" She asked.

The young doctor smiled. "He seems to be a very healthy baby boy." He looked down hesitantly. "I would like to examine you, as well, miss Littleton. If you don't mind that is. We just need to make sure that your body has healed correctly since the delivery." When she didn't respond, he continued. "Your baby will be in the same room with you the whole time. We can have a nurse hold him if you like. I assure you everyone here is very competent…"

"Is it really necessary?" She interrupted him. "I don't want anyone to take my baby from me."

"And no one will Miss Littleton, I promise you that. But we must make sure that you are healthy as well as your son." The doctor replied hopefully.

She thought a moment. "Well…ok. But, I want somebody I know to hold him. Somebody he knows."

"Certainly, would you like us to call a relative?" He stood and took a piece of paper from his pocket. "If you'd just give me the number…"

"Charlie. He's my friend from the island. Aaron likes him and, well, so do I. He saved my baby's life. I know that he wouldn't harm Aaron. Can you ask him to do it?"

The young doctor nodded and put away his notepad. "Of course." He stood and headed back out of the room. He walked over to the nurses station and looked at the big board which had all of the room assignments. Walt followed him, after one last hesitant look at Claire. She seemed to be ok. He was glad, he liked Claire.

"Room eight." He heard the doctor mumble to himself.

"What's that doc?" Said a nurse next to him. The doctor just frowned and took off in another direction. Walt was on his tail. He didn't trust this doctor and he wanted to make sure that he didn't hurt any of his friends. He stopped when he was outside of the room with a big eight next to it. He heard some voices inside. He smiled when he realized that it was Charlie's voice.

"Hey doc. When am I getting out of here?" His voice sounded muffled. Walt remembered that his had sounded like that once when he'd gotten a tooth pulled out. He wondered if Charlie had gotten his tooth pulled out.

"Oh not for at least twenty four hours. You've been beaten very badly. We need to keep an eye on you and make sure the swelling goes down. " Walt was curious and he opened the curtain just enough to see Charlie on the bed. His face was puffy and he had two black eyes. His leg was in a cast and there were crutches leaning up against the bed. Walt had seen those once. One time his mom had sprained her ankle. She had to use crutches for awhile. He wondered if Charlie had sprained his ankle too.

"Well I may look a wreck but I'm feeling bloody fine." Walt watched his try to get up with his crutches and he nearly fell on the floor. Walt winced.

"Sir, we really cannot let you try to walk right now. Maybe it would be best if you used a wheelchair." The doctor pulled a wheelchair out from the corner and helped Charlie into it without waiting for an answer.

"Oh sod it, whatever you say. But I have to go visit Claire. She needs me." Charlie was insistent. Walt smiled. He liked Charlie and Claire. He thought they would be a great mom and dad.

"Yes sir. Actually, that's what I came to talk to you about. Miss Littleton has requested your help. I would like to examine her, but she won't let anybody hold her baby except for you. I know in your condition it will be difficult…" The doctor was interrupted by Charlie pushing past him in the wheelchair.

"What room is she in?" He asked, heading outside into the hallway. Walt stepped back but not before Charlie saw him. "Hey Walt, how are you? How is everyone on the raft?" Charlie asked eagerly. Walt smiled. He liked Charlie. He thought he was funny.

"They're fine. My dad is here somewhere." He said instinctively. Charlie nodded.

"Well that's good. Give him my best will ya? I have to go find Claire now." Charlie headed off in the direction he assumed she was in. Walt watched him go and waved, even though he knew Charlie wasn't looking.

"Hey you!" he heard a voice behind him and turned around. It was the mean doctor, and he didn't look very happy. "What room are you supposed to be in?" Walt just stared at him, frightened and wide-eyed. He didn't say a word. "Hey kid, are you deaf or something?" He had an Australian accent, but it was a mean and angry one. Walt continued to stare at him. Finally, the man gave up yelling at him. He took Walt by the arm and led him over to the nurses station. Walt resisted and pulled away, but the doctor persisted until he had him sitting down in a chair inside of the nurses station.

"Now stay there until I can figure out who you belong to." He said and trudged away angrily. Walt planned on getting up right away, but he was stopped by the woman he had saw taking care of Sun earlier. She knelt down in front of him and smiled. He couldn't help but smile back.

"Hey there. I'm sorry about that mean old doctor, he's just crabby because he doesn't get to go home early. But the rest of us are very nice, I promise." Walt smiled. "You poor thing, everything you've been through and now you can't even go home to your warm bed yet." A thought seemed to occur to her. "You must be starving. We have some fresh baked cookies in our back room. Would you like one?" Walt nodded. A cookie did sound mighty good right now. "OK. Well you just stay right here and I'll be right back with your cookie."

He watched her walk away with a smile. She reminded him of his mom. He missed his mom, and he missed her fresh baked cookies.

"Excuse me…" He heard a strange voice barking out from the other side of the counter. He listened as a man in a blue outfit talked to the nurse.

"Yes, can I help you?"

"I have orders to come pick up a dead guy, transport him down to the morgue." He was waving a piece of paper in the woman's face.

"Oh right. Let me see." She shifted through a pile of papers on her desk as the young man grew more and more impatient. Walt was waiting for him to explode and scooted back in his seat. "Here is it. Yes, Locke is the name. We put him in Trauma B for now."

Walt froze. Had they said Locke. Locke as in John Locke? He closed his eyes. He knew that some people would die on the island. He knew that the others were bad and angry people and that they would kill some of them. But he hadn't expected his friend, Locke, to die. He swallowed a lump in his throat. He wished he could have said goodbye to the man. He had taught him so much. He was already starting to miss him, Walt thought. He felt a hollow pit developing in his stomach and he placed his hands over it.

He was startled out of the moment when he heard a familiar voice nearby. He looked up to the front counter and saw Jack standing there. He was wearing one of those funny gowns too, and he had a tube sticking out of his arm. He was saying something to the nurse. Something about not needing the tube that was in his arm. Something about him being a doctor. He wanted to go talk to Jack. He wanted to ask him what had happened to Locke. He was about to do just that when he heard a very loud scream coming from another room. He jumped out of the chair and raced to where the scream was coming from. Jack did the same, as did the nurse he was talking to.

Walt found himself in the entrance to room 10. In it was Shannon, and she would not stop screaming.

"Shannon?" He whispered. What was wrong with her? He watched as Jack rushed into the room and helped to hold Shannon down. She was screaming so loud that Walt had to cover his ears.

"She needs adivan!" Jack shouted. The nurses obeyed him without question. They ran in and Walt closed his eyes as they stuck a needle into her arm. He wanted to cry for her. He hated shots. He stayed outside and listened, as Shannon began to calm down and eventually fell asleep.

The mean doctor rushed into the room and seemed to be very angry with Jack. Walt wanted to go defend Jack, but didn't want the doctor to see him.

"Listen, your patient was in emotional distress! She needs a psych consult, not an armful of saline."

"Back off doctor!" The mean doctor stated. "I don't care how good you are at your job, wherever that is. This is my hospital and that is my patient. You touch her again and I will have you escorted out of here." He was stern and angry. Walt cringed. Jack stepped back, but never let the eye contact drop. Finally, he looked over the nurses and spoke.

"Get her a psych consult before she wakes up, or your going to have a real mess on your hands." He walked out of the room. Walt watched him go in admiration. Jack was a hero to him. He would never forget Jack.

"Hey! There you are!" He turned to see the mean doctor staring down at him. "Come on, its time I took you back to your father." Walt squirmed and tried to get out of his grasp, but it was too tight.

"Leave me alone!" He demanded. He found himself being dragged back to the room he had come from. It wasn't so much that he didn't want to be there, he just wanted to be away from this person who was frightening him so badly.

"Hey Dr. Evil." The man stopped and looked up at his accuser. Walt was both delighted and apprehensive to see Sawyer standing in front of them. Unlike the others, he was wearing normal clothes. "Leave the kid alone will ya."

"Are you his daddy?" The doctor asked, never letting go of Walt's shirt. Sawyer seemed to be just barely controlling his temper.

"Maybe I am. Or maybe I'm just a concerned bystander who's looking for a reason to trek on up to your bosses office." He paused. "You chose."

The doctor seemed to consider this a moment. Sawyer leaned back against he wall. He seemed to not be too concerned, but Walt knew better. Walt knew he would save him.

Finally, the doctor let him go. Walt hurried over to where Sawyer was and stayed there. He walked away without another word.

"Thanks doc, I appreciate it." He said in a southern drawl. All the while he was holding up his middle finger, which he quickly put away when Walt looked up at him.

"Thanks Sawyer." Walt said and smiled at him. Sawyer knelt down in front of him and reached out his hand. Walt mirrored the gesture and soon they were shaking hands.

"Its been a pleasure knowing ya kid. But I have to ask ya to do a favor for me." Walt nodded his head eagerly. He would do anything. "Me and Kate, we have to go on a little trip. And we don't want anyone to know who we are when we leave. So if anybody asks about us and if you saw us and where we went, I'm gonna need you to tell a little fib. Could ya do that for me?"

"Sure I can." Walt replied. "Where are you going?"

Sawyer considered this a moment. "Well now, we don't know yet. But its important that you don't call us Kate and Sawyer anymore, ya hear?"

"OK." Walt nodded his agreement. Sawyer stood up.

"Thanks Webster. Have a nice life. ." He winked and in a moment he had disappeared through the side exit of the emergency room. Walt watched him go, with a look solemn goodbye.

He turned around and noticed that he was back where he started, back by the room he had come from. The room right next to his dads room And suddenly, he realized that he wanted his dad more then anything. He walked hurriedly towards the room where he knew his dad was. He stopped only when he got to halfway open curtain, and realized that there was no one in the room anymore.

"Dad?" He asked. He swallowed thickly. His dad was gone. He suddenly felt very alone, just like he had on the day his mom had died.

"No, you listen to me! I demand that you tell me where my son is! This is outrageous! First you lose my son and then you refuse to let me out of this damn gown so I can go find him. I want my boy and I want him now!"

Walt turned around. There was his dad, yelling at the nurses. His dad was yelling because he wanted him. Walt smiled.

"Dad!" He shouted. This got his attention and he turned.

"Walt! Where have you been boy?" Walt ran to him and gave him a huge hug.

"I was just saying goodbye to everybody." He paused. "I love you dad."

And a smile came to Michaels face. It was the first time in a long time that he felt this good.

"I love you too Walt. Don't you worry now, everything's gonna be all right. We're gonna make this work somehow, I promise."

For Walt, the island was a chance to be the son to a father that had lost his son. For Walt, the island was a new home. The castaways, a new family. It was a chance to see what he really could do, when he put his mind to it.

And for Michael, the island was a chance to be the father he always knew he could be. For Michael, the island was a way for him to bond with his son and to provide for him in a way that only a father can. The castaways had taught him how to be a flexible parent, John Locke in particular. For Michael, the plane crash was the beginning of a whole new life.


	8. The Healer

Disclaimer: I do not own Lost or any of the characters in it.

Notes: This chapter was a pleasure to write. I do enjoy Jack as a character and I think he's one of the easiest to get into. I hope you all like this. And thank you for all of the great reviews! I appreciate every one of them.

Summary: Jack makes one last round before saying goodbye to the island.

"The Healer"

When Jack first stepped off the helicopter and onto the solid ground of the Australian coast, he felt a heavy weight fall onto him. It was such a heavy weight that he almost felt as if he could not stand on his own two feet anymore. When the rescue workers had appeared in the opening of the cave, a flood of emotions had run through him. First off, of course, there was relief. He did not have to be responsible for the lives of all of these people anymore. He did not have to be the hero. He felt relief in the fact that he could hand his patients over to these trained professionals and they would be ok.

He felt that he could finally rest.

The rescue workers had come in and, one by one, had taken the wounded into their care. They had put them on stretchers or helped them along if they could walk. They had brought them to their rescue boat and given them medicine and bandages and everything that Jack could not give them. They had saved them all. But Jack had requested to stay behind for a moment. As they had led the last of the survivors back towards the beach, he'd requested to meet up with them in a moment. The men had reluctantly agreed. And Jack had leaned up against the wall of the rock, and then he'd sunk down to the sandy ground. He'd leaned his head back against the cold and slightly damp rock and he'd cried. He'd cried like he'd cried on the day that he'd buried his father. He cried hard and fast. Then he had taken a long deep breath. And moments later he'd joined the rest of the group on the beach, to be rescued.

Now here he was, in a hospital gown in an emergency room. He was being treated for his wounds and for dehydration and malnutrition. He hadn't even realized that he was so malnourished. He'd been too busy making sure the rest of his people were eating enough to worry about himself. And still, they had barely made it through all of it alive. He had been the last to come in the hospital. He'd stayed outside and waited for everyone to get there. First the more critical patients, Sayid, Charlie, and Sun. He'd watched as they were given oxygen and whatever else was necessary. He'd offered to donate blood, but the doctors had looked at him as if he'd just volunteered to donate a kidney. What they didn't know was that donating a kidney would not have been such a stretch for Jack. It was just his way to care for others.

Then he'd watched as the lesser wounded were brought in. Claire was there, as were Michael, Walt, Jin, Hurley, and Shannon. And when he'd noticed Kate and Sawyer trying to get out of the examination, he'd budded his nose in for, what he promised himself, was the last time.

"Listen, I've been observing them since the crash. I really don't think they need any medical assistance." And he'd looked over at Kate. She was anxious and frightened. She looked at him gratefully. He didn't flinch when Sawyer had called her "Beth". He knew that Kate was on the run again. He didn't fully support her of course, but he couldn't turn her in now. It had been so long and they'd been through so much. She deserved to have some sort of life, to be happy.

When the doctor had left she'd jumped into his arms and hugged him tighter then he had been hugged in a long time. "Thank you Jack." She whispered in his ear. He hugged her back, feeling what could have been but never was. It was better this way anyway. Sawyer could take care of her in a way that he couldn't. He could give her the support she needed without judgment or persecution. He was just not in a place to do that for her.

"Be careful out there." He handed her the bottle of water that was in his hand. He'd kept it since they'd left the island mainly out of habit. "Here. Drink this. You might be dehydrated." She accepted the water, tears in her eyes. She smiled at him and turned back to Sawyer.

And just has they were about to leave, Jack held out his hand to Sawyer. Sawyer, confused at first, looked at him with suspicion.

"I'm not trying to poison you, I promise." Jack said with a smile. Sawyer finally reciprocated and reached out to shake his hand. Jack pulled him in closer as their hands touched. "Take care of her, she needs you." Sawyer seemed to appreciate this and Jack saw sincerity cross over his face.

"Thanks Doc." Jack nodded.

"I owe you one." Only the two of them knew what this meant, but what it meant was the world to Jack. Sawyer had given him something that no one else could have given him, the honest truth about his fathers last minutes on this earth. Unrenowned to him, it was exactly what he needed to hear.

When they'd gone he'd given in. He'd corresponded with the doctors and actually got into one of those paper gowns and played the role of the good patient. He let himself be helped for once. It was a feeling that was foreign to Jack, but it was something that he needed. They gave him IV fluids, which he did protest to no avail, and did a complete physical. He'd lost weight, which was no surprise to him. Other then that he was fine.

Fine. What kind of word was fine? He felt, deep down, that it was wrong of them to say that he was fine. It was wrong because so many of his people were not fine. John Locke was dead. He'd never really trusted the man completely, something about his casual attitude about things. He just didn't seem to care. Not how Jack cared anyway. That was wrong in Jack's eyes. He still felt it was wrong, of course, but now that John Locke was dead it was not a strong feeling anymore. It was like something that was in the past. It was and it would never be again, he felt. In a way this felt right to him though. The fact that Locke had died in a place that made him calm and serene seemed like the perfect ending. As much as Jack tried, he could not picture Locke off of the island. He would not be the same by any means. Jack could not picture the man being happy anywhere else. It was right that he take his last breath in a place that made him truly happy.

But it was not fine that he had died under Jack's watch. Nothing would ever be fine in Jacks world because of this. Just like when Boone had died, he accepted the defeat as his own. A life was lost in a place where he was in charge. Jack did not like that feeling. And this is when he decided that he could not stay in this hospital room anymore.

So he trudged out of the room, dragging his IV pole behind him. He wondered why he'd ever let them do this to him. He wasn't a patient, he was a doctor. He was the one everyone depended on. He had to be there for everyone.

So he checked in on Sun first. She was being brought up to surgery to remove the bullet from her shoulder. She was stable though, from what he could tell. What an incredible woman Sun was, he thought. She had helped him so much throughout their time on the island. She was always willing to get her hands dirty in order to help someone else, even when it caused her marriage to be in trouble. He was only in her room a moment because he knew the doctors would be back any second to take her away. He brushed his hand lightly over her forehead, letting her know that he was still there for her. Then he walked away.

He found Jin's room next. Jin was very frustrated with the doctors because they could not understand him. He was angry and he wanted answers. Jack couldn't imagine what it would be like to be in such a situation and not have any idea what was going on around you. He stuck his head into the room.

"Excuse me…" He began. The frustrated nurse looked over at him. "You need to tell him about his wife."

"I'm sorry sir but you need to go back to your room now." The nurse said hurriedly. She made it halfway to Jack before she realized the difference, it was now quiet. Jin was not arguing or cursing or yelling at her. He was intently watching Jack. "Do you know this man?" She questioned Jack. Jack, without answer, walked all the way in.

"Hey Jin." He gestured towards the outside. "Will you follow me for a moment." Jin understood his gesturing and stood up to follow him.

"Excuse me but where do you think you're going?" The nurse demanded. Jack ignored her and led Jin straight across the hallway to Sun, who was lying in the trauma room. The minute Jin laid eyes on her he clearly became frightened and concerned. He ran into the room and Jack followed behind him. He watched as Jin touched his wife and wasn't satisfied until he felt her warmth. Jack stood back and waited. Eventually, Jin questioned him.

"She's very sick Jin." He tried to be clear with his words. Jin understood the word 'sick'. "She needs to have surgery." He made a motion of cutting with a scalpel. Jin seemed to understand this too and became concerned. "But, she will be ok." He looked long and hard at Jin, who was trying to understand all of this. Eventually, Jin smiled slightly. He understood and nodded in thank you. Jack watched as he stayed by Sun's side, holding her hand lovingly.

He looked back at the nurse, who was standing in the doorway, and spoke. "Let him stay with her. He's not wounded at all. He just needs to be with his wife." He walked past her and out the door. He had more patients to see.

Next he found Sayid's room. The bleeding from the bullet wound was now being controlled and Sayid was receiving donor blood. At first glance he looked asleep. Jack picked up the chart at the end of the bed and looked it over. He was to be taken to surgery to remove any remaining bullet fragments and be sewn up. He was severely dehydrated and had lost a large amount of blood. But, for the moment, he was stable.

"Jack?" He heard Sayid's voice. He could only manage a small whisper.

"Sayid." He moved closer to the man. "It looks like you're going to be ok." Sayid smiled.

"I thought I would be. I can feel it." He paused. "How are you Jack?" He raised his hand and Jack took it in his.

"I'm surviving." Jack replied with a smile. Sayid nodded as much as he could find the energy too.

"Will you take care of Shannon, while I am gone?" Jack smiled.

"I will." Sayid smiled. He was dozing off again.

"Thank you Jack." He managed to muster before falling back to sleep. Jack dropped his hand and moved back.

"Thank you, Sayid."

As he went out into the hallway he noticed a familiar face. It was Hurley. He was sitting on a stretcher and swinging his legs impatiently. Jack smiled and padded over to him.

"Hurley." He said simply. Hurley nodded back at him.

"Jack." Was his reply. "How's the head?" He pointed the bump on Jack's head. Jack had forgotten about it until now.

"Its alright. How are you?" He asked, looking him over from top to bottom. Hurley shrugged.

"Hungry." Was his reply. Jack laughed and shook his head. He touched Hurley on the shoulder and smiled.

"You're gonna be ok Hurley. Take care of yourself."

"Will do man." Hurley replied with a big grin. Jack took his IV pole and looked around. For a moment he wasn't sure where to go next. Then, he noticed a familiar face in one of the rooms. He quickly headed in that direction.

"Hey Claire." He said, peeking his head in. "May I come in?" He asked politely. He knew they would want to examine her thoroughly because of the baby.

"Hello Jack. Yes you may." He entered and saw her smile at him. He felt better already. He'd been worried about her emotional state since the others had taken her baby. He was grateful to Charlie for doing what he didn't have the capacity to do at the time. Now the baby was safe in Claire's arms. He was clearly dirty and was beginning to fall asleep.

"How is he?" Jack gestured to the infant. Claire beamed in pride.

"He's going to be ok." Then she tensed. "The doctor says he wants to examine me. I don't know though. I'm afraid to put him down. I'm afraid he's going to be taken away again." She was beginning to get teary eyed. Jack moved closer to her and lightly touched the infants head.

"No one will take him away from you Claire. Not ever again. You're both safe here, I promise." Claire smiled gratefully at him. He felt a smile touch his own face too.

"Thank you Jack, for saving us." She paused and seemed to think of something. "Are you ok, Jack?" He nodded.

"Yes, I'm alright. Just got a bump on the head." He paused. "You should let them examine you Claire. Its important."

"Well, I suppose I will. If you think its necessary I mean." She replied, still unsure but trusting him enough to submit. "Have you seen Charlie?" She asked hopefully. He looked down. The last time he'd seen Charlie was when he was being wheeled into the hospital, severely beaten.

"No." He replied. "But I'll go see if I can find him."

"Please do. I'm worried about him." Her face clouded over.

"Charlie's a strong guy, I'm sure he'll be ok." Jack said with confidence. When he saw a nurse moving outside of the room he stepped back. "Take care of yourself Claire." He touched her arm lightly before leaving the room.

He found himself eagerly searching for Charlie's room. He searched through chart after chart, nodding to all the nurses who looked at him strangely. They probably wondered about what he was doing, but knew that he wouldn't stop even if they approached him. Jack was a strong willed person and when he put his mind to something he would always follow through. But this one was more difficult. He was having a hard time finding Charlie. He knew that if he could have a look at the board of patients then he could find him, so he headed over to the nurses station.

"Listen, I was wondering if I could get this tube taken out of my arm now. Really, I'm feeling much better and I think I can be discharged." He tried to convince the nurse at the station. Mainly, he was just trying to search the board for Charlie's name.

"Oh I'm sorry sir, but the doctor is the only person who can take the tube out of your arm." She said in a monotone way. Jack sighed.

"Look, I _am_ a doctor. OK? I know when I'm fine, and I'm fine."

"I'm really sorry doctor, but…" She began. She stopped when screaming was heard coming from the room behind him. Jack knew immediately who it was, and he turned and raced into the room. Shannon was in the bed, screaming and thrashing about. Jack knew that she was under extreme emotional distress. He had to do something immediately.

"She needs Adivan!" He shouted. The nurses immediately obeyed his command and put the drug into her arm. He continued to hold her down until the drug began to take its effect. She became still and her eyes slowly closed. Jack relaxed his hold on her.

Suddenly he felt himself being pushed aside and had to fight to keep his balance. It was a doctor and he looked very upset. Jack knew doctors and could read them well. He could tell that this one was new on the job and very big headed. He chose to speak up.

"Listen, your patient was in emotional distress! She needs a psych consult, not an armful of saline." The doctor looked up at him, as if in shock that he dared to say anything at all.

"Back off doctor!" The mean doctor stated. "I don't care how good you are at your job, wherever that is. This is my hospital and that is my patient. You touch her again and I will have you escorted out of here." Jack stared at him smugly. Yea, this guy was a piece of work. He hated the fact that this man was in charge of his friend's care. It took all of his strength to back down from the confrontation.

He started towards the door, but stopped to look at the nurses. "Get her a psych consult before she wakes up, or your going to have a real mess on your hands." He walked out, hoping to God that they listened to him.

As he was heading towards room eight, the room he knew that Charlie was in, he was stopped by a familiar voice.

"Michael?" He asked and turned. There was Michael. He was standing at the desk arguing with one of the nurses. Jack walked up to him. "Michael…what's going on?"

"Jack! Man its good to see you!" He surprised Jack with a big hug. Jack reciprocated after the shock wore off.

"Its good to see you too. How are you? How is Walt?" Jack asked. Michael became extremely angry.

"I'm fine. But these incompetent assholes lost my son!" He said loudly and with a purpose. Jack touched his arm, trying to calm him.

"Alright, calm down. Now, he's got to be around here somewhere Michael." He turned his attention to the nurse. "Who was his physician?" Jack tried to exude an authoritative and controlled tone.

"Dad!" The voice came from behind them. Jack and Michael both turned around. There was Walt, in his hospital gown, running towards Michael. Jack stood back and watched as the two embraced. He knew immediately that Walt was ok now.

That left one person. Jack stayed in place and looked around the area. When he spotted room eight he moved towards it. One last person to check on, one last person to take care of. Once he reached the room he peeked inside the curtain and was surprised to find it completely empty.

"Charlie?" He said to himself. He stepped back for a moment, a sinking feeling forming in his stomach. The chart was gone and so was Charlie. That could only mean one thing. He suddenly felt very nauseous.

"Yea, that's a good little turnip head." The words sounded in Jack's ears. He turned around to see the man he was looking for. Charlie was in a wheelchair parked outside of Claire's room. He was holding the baby and talking to it. Jack felt relief wash over him. He hurried over to Charlie.

"Charlie!" He said in celebration. Charlie looked up from the baby and smiled a big grin. He was still swollen and bruised, but he seemed to be ok.

"Hey Jack. Are you ok?" He asked immediately. Jack knelt down in front of him as best he could and touched Charlie's shoulder. He smiled.

"I'm fine Charlie. The question is are you ok?" Charlie shrugged.

"I'm a bit banged up I suppose. My leg is hurtin, but I told them no drugs. Rather not go down the withdrawal road again." Charlie smiled at Jack. They shared a knowing glance.

"That's good to hear Charlie. I'm very proud of you." And he was.

Charlie looked back down at the baby. "How is everyone else? I heard that Locke didn't make it."

Jack shook his head sadly. "No, Locke didn't make it." He paused for a moment. "Everyone else is doing alright though." Charlie smiled thoughtfully.

"So, I guess for the most part we survived, right?" Jack laughed. He laughed because Charlie was right, and he had just realized it.

"Yea Charlie, I guess we did." The curtain popped open and a nurse peeked her head out.

"The patient is requesting you both come in." She seemed nice, unlike most of the others Jack had met. He smiled at her. Charlie looked from the nurse back to Jack and held out his hand. Jack did the same and they shook hands.

"It's been a pleasure being stranded with you Jack." Jack smiled.

"Same here Charlie, same here." They shook hands and the nurse came out to take Charlie back into the room.

"Was there something I could get you?" She asked Jack kindly. He shook his head.

"No, thank you. I'm fine." He smiled and turned to go back to his room. His people were fine and he knew it. And all at once he realized how he would miss them. Not one in particular, but all of them. They had all showed him the meaning of strength and courage and fear and grief. They had all taught him a lesson that he had been trying to learn his whole life.

Being a leader wasn't about being forced into the role, it was about caring for others enough to take them by the hand and lift them up when they've fallen. It was about using what you know to change someone's' life for the better. And in the process, changing your own as well.


	9. The Fugitive

Disclaimer: I do not own Lost or any of the characters in it.

Notes: I admit it, I am a Sawyer/Kate aholic. I love their chemistry and I love writing them together. I'm sorry if this offends anyone who isn't into Sawyer/Kate. But I did warn you.

Summary: Kate leaves the island and goes back to the real world, complete with all the fears and worries she left behind.

"The Fugitive"

Tired.

That's what Kate felt like. She felt tired of all of it. She felt like she suddenly weighed five hundred pounds and her legs could not handle the burden anymore. And as she sat there in that rescue helicopter, cold and shaking, she felt like giving it all up right there.

And she would have, if it weren't for him.

Sawyer had come to her rescue, much to her surprise. Just when she thought she could not do it anymore, just when she thought it was time to give up her charade and hand herself over to the people who wanted her, he'd shown up to vocalize the lie that she could not get her own voice to say. He'd defended her in a way that no one had defended her in a very long time. The compassionate act was not lost on her , but she also could not figure out exactly why he'd done this. Sure, there were feelings there. There was something that she could not quite describe between her and Sawyer. From the very first moment they'd shared something of a bond. She liked it and she could finally admit to herself that she did like the man as well.

But at the same time, she was very angry with him. She was angry that he had betrayed her on the island. She was angry that she had been seconds away from never having to lie again, and he'd ruined it. She was angry that he'd taken it upon himself to enter her life at a time when she didn't think she could handle him or this or whatever feeling it was that he brought along with him. She couldn't afford to care about somebody now. Everybody who she cared about eventually got hurt or killed because of her situation. That was the last thing she wanted for Sawyer. God knew he had enough problems in his own life without taking hers on as well.

But here she was, Elizabeth Yarding. At least that was the name of the dead girl who's passport they'd found. She looked enough like Kate to pass the test and get her on the helicopter back home anyway. From there, Kate had no idea what would happen next. The dead girl, the one they'd pinned off as Kate, had not actually been on the plane. They'd figured this out by process of elimination mainly. She had been one of the others. Kate was sure that, whoever this girl was, no one would be coming to claim her anytime soon. This made her sad somehow. This made her think of her own life, and how she really had no one left to 'claim her'. No one who loved her anyway. And this poor girl, who had probably had hopes and dreams of her own at some point, was dead and gone and would never be remembered or honored in any way. To Kate, this was very sad .

The whole helicopter ride had been slow and painful. Her heart had been going a mile a minute, just waiting for someone to realize their charade and realize that she was the one everyone was looking for. Sawyer had stayed next to her the entire time. He'd requested a blanket on her behalf, mainly because of her unstoppable shivering. It was a sweet gesture, but it made Kate feel even worse then she already did. In Kate's mind, she didn't deserve to have someone dote over her as Sawyer was doing. She had no idea where the sudden affection was coming from. Sawyer had never been one for showing his feelings, at least those that didn't relate to anger, and even with the bond they'd shared Kate couldn't fathom him actually caring for her as she felt she cared for him. But she did feel it, in his stare and in his actions, and it scared her.

The ride had been silent for the most part. Both parties were afraid to say anything to the other, mainly out of fear of being overheard by the pilot and the others on board. But Kate could tell that Sawyer had something he wanted to say to her. She could tell that he was hatching up some kind of plan in his head at that very moment. All the while, the only thing she could really think about were the events of that day and the bodies she had seen. Ever since that moment when she'd collapsed on the ground, she'd just been very cold and very numb. She didn't believe them when she said she was in shock. She'd even refused to think about the devastation around her, until now anyway. She was grateful that Sawyer had his head on straight, because there was no way she could even brainstorm about what she would do next to stay out of harms way.

And then, they'd hit ground. The impact of the helicopter hitting the landing pad outside of the Australian airport was extremely intense and frightening for Kate. It had the same sort of impact, for her, as when the plane had crashed on the island a couple of months before. It was sudden and it was deadly. It meant that she was back in the real world, and she would have to face her real problems again. She'd jumped again when she felt Sawyer cautiously rub his hand up against hers. She smiled slightly at the gesture. She found it very sweet, very junior high like. It was just like Sawyer, she thought. He wanted to touch her, but he couldn't make up his mind whether he should or not. He'd quickly withdrawn his hand when she'd jumped and she felt him immediately put up his guards. She sighed and looked down. She wanted to touch his hand, let him know that it was ok. But the truth was, she didn't know that it would be ok. She didn't know that the decisions he'd made today on her part would not ruin his life indefinitely. She didn't know if she'd be free come tomorrow.

So she just stayed still and closed her eyes, not wanting to look at the sight of the real world around them.

Almost immediately the door of the helicopter opened. First they moved to pull Shannon out. She was terrified and shaking still. Kate felt sorry for her. The poor girl had been through so much. She and Shannon had never really gotten along, never really talked all that much. They were polar opposites. Shannon was everything right and beautiful. Kate was everything wrong and ugly. At least in her own eyes she was. Shannon was light and Kate was darkness.

Shannon looked up at her before she was pulled out. She smiled at her and Kate smiled back. It was a sad smile. It was a goodbye smile. Kate knew instinctively that she would not see Shannon ever again. She knew that Shannon knew the same. It wasn't a drastic loss for either of them, but it _was_ a loss of familiarity. Like Kate, Shannon would be going on with her life with a piece missing. Boone, her brother, was gone forever. She would never be the same again.

But then again, none of them would be.

When the rescue worker reached out his hand towards Kate, she felt herself shaking inside. She knew she had to take it. She knew she had to get out of this safe haven that she had made for herself and face her reality. Kate's reality was that her entire life was a lie, and she hated it. She felt Sawyer nudge her slightly from behind. It was like he was telling her to go, that it would be ok. Inside she wondered how he could even know that it would be ok, but she forced herself out onto the cold concrete of the landing pad anyway. She didn't have a choice anymore. She couldn't run and hide in the jungle. She couldn't curl up on the beach and lose herself in the rhythm of the waves. She couldn't breath in the fresh air after a rain storm and imagine that she was somewhere peaceful and free. Kate was back in chains again.

After that things happened so fast. It was like a blur to Kate. They led into the hospital and into the emergency room. They wanted to check her over, sign her in, give her a room. Her immediate reaction was to resist at all costs.

"I'm fine." She insisted, although she still couldn't seem to get herself to warm up. "I don't need to be here. Please, I just want to go home." She begged and pleaded with the nurse, who was trying to pull her into the room. Sawyer was fighting his own battle a few feet away. He, too, wanted to leave immediately. Of course part of it was because of her, but Kate assumed that he had his own reasons for not wanting to be stuck in a hospital in Australia. Neither of them seemed to be having any luck convincing the doctors. Kate felt herself beginning to collapse again. She had to get out of her and if she didn't let her go then she would have to do whatever she had to run away. She felt the panic rising and her heart was beating so fast that she was afraid it would never stop.

She chanced a look over at Sawyer to find that he was looking right back at her. Their eyes met and she felt his desperation on top of her own desperation. She saw though, that there was a strength in his eyes. It was something that she couldn't find in herself. She could feel him trying to transfer his strength over to her. The connection was deep and everlasting. And when he chanced a smile in her direction, she couldn't help but to smile back. It was a sad smile, a frightened smile. It was the smile of a fugitive who thinks she's about to take her last breathe. This wasn't lost on Sawyer either, and he seemed to be genuinely concerned. Because Kate was about to break, and she knew that if she did it would the end of her life as she knew it.

She closed her eyes and felt the hands of somebody on her arm. She knew it was the nurse, it wasn't a tight enough grip to be a man. She'd had plenty of angry men grab her arm like this, she would know. She looked down and felt the tears coming to her eyes. She fought with all of her remaining strength to hold them back.

"Please…" was her last plea. It was only a whisper and barely audible. It came from her gut. It came from that place inside of her that never really stopped fighting even though the fight was over.

She became vaguely aware of Sawyer's voice. He was angry. She could hear it. It wasn't even his normal anger, it was the anger that comes out in a normal voice. It was that intense kind of anger that cannot even be fully expressed by shouting. She could barely make out his words. Her thoughts were jumbled and she was suddenly very aware of her own weight in this world. She wanted to tell him to stop, just to please let her stop fighting. She couldn't do it anymore. She wanted to more then anything. More then anything she wanted her freedom back, but she could not muster up the energy to try anymore.

"Beth…" She heard Sawyers voice say. It took her a moment to remember that this was her new name. She opened her eyes, and there he was. Sawyer was standing in front of her and holding her shoulders with his rather strong hands. She wondered when he had grabbed onto her shoulders. "Don't worry, everything's going to be fine." He was nodding. He wasn't giving into them. He had a plan. She knew Sawyer's devious looks by now. She trusted his judgment, mainly because she could find none of her own.

And then there was another voice.

"Hi. Doctor, my name is Dr. Jack Shepherd. Listen, I've been observing them since the crash. I really don't think they need any medical assistance." Kate looked at Sawyer. He was looking to her left and behind her. She knew what he was looking at.

She turned to look at him. He was conversing with the doctor rather convincingly. He looked ragged and run down, but she knew he would be ok. Jack would always be ok. He was their hero, their leader. Kate knew he was way too stubborn to give up that well earned title now.

And then the doctor and nurse were gone. They had said it would be ok if she and Sawyer wanted to go home, but had insisted that Jack get his head wound taken care of. Jack had reluctantly agreed. Kate looked at him, trying to convey the thankfulness she felt. She took one look at Sawyer standing next to her and smiled at him. She was silently asking his permission to say goodbye to this man who had saved them yet again. Part of her felt the need to have Sawyers permission, because he had taken on Jack's role in her life now. It had happened suddenly and without warning, but Kate was aware of the change in the dynamics of their relationship. Kate was aware of the shift that had brought them to this point, the point where she wanted to hold his hand and be in his arms. She needed to convey this to him.

One look said it all. Their eyes met again and she knew that Sawyer would allow her one last moment with this man who had been so much for her in the last couple of months. She reached out and threw herself into a hug with Jack. He reciprocated, but only after a moment of hesitation. Kate knew that this bond they had would never fade, but neither would it grow into anything else. There was no room for that anymore.

"Thank you Jack." She was thanking him for everything, not just his valiant rescue attempt moments before. She was thanking him for listening to her and being her friend and being on her side whenever he could bring himself to be. She was thanking him, also, for letting her go. They broke the hug and he reached into his pack and pulled out a bottle of water.

"Be careful out there." He handed her the bottled water. "Here. Drink this. You might be dehydrated." She felt tears come to her eyes. This really was it. Their adventure really was over, for good.

She turned from him and walked back to Sawyer. She felt an overwhelming sense of welcoming as she grazed her hand up against his in passing. She felt an overwhelming sense of relief in just being near him. It was something she had no been able to muster up for herself, not in a very long time.

She closed her eyes and savored this new and welcome feeling that he had given her.

Sawyer and Jack had exchanged words, but she hadn't heard them. She was too busy thinking about tomorrow and the next day and the day after that. She was too busy worrying about everything that she had to worry about now.

She was ready to leave and began to walk towards the door, but Sawyer stopped her.

"Wait a minute there." He seemed to be looking at something down the hallway of the hospital. She followed his eyes and noticed that he was looking at Walt. There was a doctor who seemed to be getting rough with the little boy. She immediately wanted to go help him. Everyone had taken a protective role over Walt when they were on the island. He was the innocent one. He was the one who needed protection. She started over, but Sawyer grabbed her. "You stay right here." He pointed to the ground for emphasis. "I'm gonna go take care of this." He reluctantly let go of her arm and kept looking back at her until he was down the hallway and almost out of sight.

Kate stayed in place a moment. Not sure where to go or what to do. She hated staying in one place, but was afraid to do anything else. She stumbled when an oncoming stretcher came by and the nurses nearly pushed her aside. She looked at the stretcher, on its way into an elevator, and recognized that it was Sun. She put her hand over her mouth and a sad look came over her face. So many people had been hurt, she wondered why it was that she managed to get out of the encounter unharmed.

She heard a baby crying and glanced through a halfway open curtain in the hallway. Inside of the room was Claire, and she was holding the baby. Kate watched the mother and child interact, remembering the day she had helped to deliver the baby. She had been so afraid, but in the end it had turned out perfectly. The love between Claire and the baby was so obvious. Kate was mesmerized by it. It was the same love that she had never really had the chance to experience, the love of a mother for her child. She smile slightly. Something told her that as long as that woman and baby were ok, then everything else would be ok too. It just had to be.

Suddenly she felt a presence behind her and froze. It was only when she recognized the presence as Sawyer that she relaxed.

"Is everything ok?" She asked. He nodded while leading her outside.

"Kid's just fine. Come on, we'd better get out of here."

And moments later they were outside. Kate felt herself becoming more and more withdrawn as they walked out into the fresh air. She was still thinking about the future. Where would they end up? How would they survive? She felt herself tense up.

Then she felt his fingers on her chin. She felt him lift her head until she was staring straight up into his eyes. They were filled with worry, as were hers. But his had something else, confidence maybe. She felt safety when she looked into them, like nothing could hurt her as long as she was staring into those eyes.

"Don't sweat it Freckles." He said, as if reading her mind. "I've got us covered." He offered up his hand and she took it without hesitation. She smiled at him. The panic from earlier was gone now. The shock of the incident had warn down enough for her to function again. She was able to breath the air and take in her surroundings without feeling completely out of control. And if she did have a moment where her control slipped away, she would just squeeze Sawyer's hand and he would lend her some of his until she could get back on her feet.

"So where are we going?" She asked him. This was new to her. She'd never been as unaware of her own fate as she was at this moment, hand in hand with this enemy turned friend turned something else. He must have sensed the insecurity in her voice and laughed.

"You'll see. It's a surprise." He led her towards the street outside of the hospital. They walked in the direction of the airport. "So, how do you feel about milking cows and roping cattle for a living?"

"Sawyer…"

He had a mischievous glint in his eyes. This made Kate slightly weary, yet excited at the same time.

"Or of course you could just get a job in a strip club for some extra cash." He paused, waiting for her reaction. When she hit him lightly on the arm he pretended to be in tremendous pain. "OK OK, but I had the perfect stage name for you…"

"I'm afraid to hear it…" She rolled her eyes, loving every minute of their familiar banter.

"What do you think about…" He paused. "Shania." She stopped in her tracks, partly offended but mostly just happy to have things somewhat back to normal.

"Shania?" She question. "I don't think so." Sawyer pulled her along and shook his head.

"Women…you're all so damn stubborn."

She reached up and gave him another good smack on the arm. To any stranger walking by them on the street's of Australia they were just two people in love. No one knew about their pasts or the people they had killed. No one looked at Kate and saw a murderer or a fugitive. To the world, they were just a couple holding hands and flirting mercilessly. Kate had a sense that she looked very happy and very normal. She didn't feel the need to hide her face or blend into the crowd. She and Sawyer _were_ the crowd.

And, for the first time in so long, Kate felt normal again.


	10. The Southern Gentleman

Disclaimer: I do not own Lost or any of the characters in it.

Notes: Sawyer's POV. There might be a lot of repeated scenes due to his encounters with other characters. I tried to match them as best as I could. I'm putting a language warning on this, just because its Sawyer and I can't do Sawyer without doing some bad words.

Summary: Sawyer came to the island a criminal, and he left as a man in love.

"The Southern Gentleman"

She hadn't said one word to him.

Not since he'd come back to the island and saved her. But he knew that she was happy to see him. He'd seen her eyes when she'd heard his voice, when she looked up and saw him next to her. He saw that she was relieved. She'd given him that smile, the one that he'd come all the way back to that goddamned island just to see. It was all he needed. He didn't need to hear her say anything, he just needed that smile to know that this was the right choice.

But there was a hesitation when it came to them passing the dead girl off as Kate. Not on the rescue workers part, he didn't have any problems convincing the men that this was their criminal. She looked enough like a criminal, at least, in that garb that she'd been wearing. It was Kate who was hesitant. It was almost like she didn't want Sawyer to get her off the hook. It was like, for once, she actually wanted to be arrested and convicted. But Sawyer wouldn't stand for that. That wasn't the Kate he knew. The Kate he knew would do anything to keep her freedom, at any cost. Though he would never say it out loud, she had been somewhat of an inspiration for him. He was the kind to give up at a moments notice, just when things got a little bit hard. Hell, every one of his past, so called, relationships could attest to that. But she had brought out a side of him he never knew about, the side of Sawyer that stood up for something and didn't back down.

When they'd presented the fake passport, the one that identified Kate as Elizabeth Yarding, she had been so close to breaking down and confessing everything. He'd watched her fighting the urge to just give in to the pressure that was surrounding them at that moment. He'd reached out and touched her lightly on the lower back. This, for Sawyer, was a sign of protection and possession. He remembered that his father used to do that to his mother, back before she'd cheated on him. He'd always found it comforting to see him do that. It was like a sign that his father was in control and that he would always take care of him and his mom. He, himself, had never touched a woman in that place. It was a sacred place for him, a place reserved only for those who truly deserved it. And when he touched Kate on her lower back, he knew that he was in for the long haul with this one.

And she knew too. When he'd place his hand there, only until that difficult moment had passed, he was showing her that he was in control of this moment. He was going to take care of this for her, if she would only just submit to his words and go along with him. She'd gotten the message. He'd felt her take a deep relieving breath and glance up at him sideways. It was a quick glance, but it was all the answer he needed.

On the helicopter he'd gotten her a blanket when she was shivering. It was something he could picture Jack doing, but never really himself. It was out of character for him, he realized this. He'd done it mainly because of her constant shivering. He knew that the shivering was more the leftover fear of what had just happened to her then actual chills. He knew that she was in shock. He'd seen it once or twice in his life. Hell, he'd experienced it himself when he was eight years old. And who wouldn't be in shock after experiencing what she had just experienced. He didn't believe in God, but Sawyer did believe in something else. He had thanked whatever that something else was when he'd seen her on that beach, standing and breathing. The message over the radio had said that everyone was dead. He had refused to believe it. Somehow, he knew that if she was truly dead he would feel it inside of him somehow. They'd bonded while on the island, even if it was mainly through sarcastic comments and arguments and bribes. He felt like he knew her, he felt like he would know if she didn't exist in the world anymore.

And here she was, sitting next to him in the helicopter. She wouldn't talk to him, but that's because there was nothing to say. He had a lot to say to her, but there would be a better time and place for that nonsense. Right now his focus was on getting her safely back to the coast and going from there. He'd all but abandoned his own life. His little cottage house back in Alabama was nonexistent to him now. He'd resolved himself to be anywhere but there. The island had been the perfect excuse to not go back home. Now, he had another excuse. No, not an excuse, a _reason_. She was his reason.

And when they landed she'd jumped like a frightened little kitten. He found it cute, but it also worried him. If she was this jumpy just from a helicopter ride then how was she going to maintain herself inside of that hospital they were destined to go to? She was very much in shock and part of him wanted to take her to the hospital just to make sure that she really hadn't been hurt by the others. But he knew better then that. The hospital was the worse place for them right now.

He stopped when he realized it. He'd used the word _them_. Like it wasn't just her. Technically he _had_ killed a man in Australia. He should be worried about himself just the same. But it had never really bothered him so much, the idea of getting caught. He figured if he did then he deserved it. But seeing this person next to him, shivering and ready to give up, well it gave him all the motivation he needed to fight for both of their lives. Because they had made mistakes, both of them, but if the island had taught him anything it was that there was always room for redemption. He and Kate could have a second chance. Hell, they _deserved_ a second chance! Everyone screws up at some point after all.

He moved to touch her hand. He wanted to let her know that everything was going to be alright, that she needed to calm down. But the gesture had the opposite effect, causing her to jump in fear. He quickly withdrew and fought to keep himself in check. He hated rejection, that was why he dated the women he dated. They never said no to him and he loved it. But she had just rejected his gesture of comfort and affection. It made him slightly angry inside that she would do that to him after everything they'd been through. He fought to keep focused and to not let his emotions get in the way. But Sawyer was like a small child inside, and when he felt that someone didn't want him around he got pissed and left. He couldn't really leave though. For one, of course, they were in a helicopter. But he also knew that she would fall apart without him here. Sawyer could, at times, have an ego the size of Texas. He never denied this and right now she was making him very aware of his huge ego. She didn't have to reach for his hand or tell him out loud for him to see that she needed him at that moment. She was barely holding herself together and he'd caught her once or twice near tears.

He'd come this far. He wasn't going to give up now. Hell, it was gonna hurt bad whether she rejected him today or tomorrow, when she was somewhere safe.

The next thing he knew the helicopter door was opening and Shannon was being led out first. The poor girl had been devastated by whatever had happened on that island while he was away. He hoped that he could get Kate to tell him the full story later, when she got over the shock of it. He wanted to know not just for his own curiosity but also for her sake. If she was going to recover emotionally then he would need to know how to help her do that. If she even let him that is, he had to keep reminding himself that he might not be with her tomorrow or the next day. She might reject him. The idea made him angry again and he put it out of his mind.

When it came time for Kate to be helped out, Sawyer knew that she wouldn't move if he didn't encourage her to do so. He lightly nudged her back, hoping that she would get the message. He wanted her to think, at least for the moment, that everything would be ok. Hell if he knew what would happen next. Hell if he knew whether there were police officers hiding on the other side of that door waiting to take her away. Maybe even him too. He didn't know anything at all, but they would never know until they stepped out onto that landing pad and back into the world. Their island paradise was gone now. Unfortunately, for Sawyer, they were back in the real world. He hated the very idea of being back here, in a place that he hated with a passion, but it was inevitable.

So then they were led into the hospital and towards the emergency room with the rest of the people they'd been stranded with. He recognized a few of them and realized that if he could recognize them then they certainly would recognize Kate. They needed to get out of there and do it fast.

He watched as Kate panicked and was held down by a doctor and nurse. He tried to get to her and they attempted to hold him back as well. He was angry and upset. This wasn't the plan. He hadn't gone through all of this to let go here. Dammit if he was gonna lose Kate it was going to be by her own choice! He needed to calm her down before they made an even bigger scene then they already had.

He looked over at her, hoping that she would look back at him.

"Hey!" He shouted. It was shouted in the general direction of Kate and was both a plea to the people holding him back and a reason for Kate to look his way. It worked. She turned her head and looked at him, no into him. Their eyes met and he felt a connection for the first time since he'd found her on that island. She was scared and she was ready to give up. He saw it in the way she smiled at him, it was almost like she was apologizing for what she was about to do. He shook his head, trying to convey to her that she didn't have to do this. She could be free.

And she could be with him.

He heard her plead one last time, her voice so low he barely made out the word _please_. She was broken. He felt his anger rising. No one was allowed to break her. She was his and he wouldn't let them take away that, whatever it was, that resided so stubbornly inside of her.

"Let her go you fucking Aussi retards!" He shouted and fought hard just to get to her. "I swear that if you don't let her go I will personally kick your asses back to…" Then they let him go. He shook off the feeling of being held captive and looked at Kate. She had given up. She hadn't said a word, but her posture said it all. They had let her go, mainly because she wasn't fighting them anymore. He had to do something soon if he wanted her back the way she used to be.

He walked up to her, determined but at the same time slow so as not to frighten her anymore. When she didn't look at him he reached up and put his hands on her shoulders. He turned her to face him and she followed without much resistance. This woman had had enough today and was emotionally drained. He saw it.

"Beth…" He almost whispered the name. He wanted to appear in control. He wanted her to see that she could lean on him and trust him to make things ok again. When she responded and looked up at him, he spoke again. "Don't worry, everything's going to be fine." He nodded, trying to convey to her that he would take care of things and that there was a plan. He watched as the hope returned to her eyes in the form of one tiny sparkle. It was only a fraction of the sparkle that was normally in those eyes, but he would settle for that fraction for right now.

And both of them were startled when Jack's voice appeared out of thin air.

"Hi. Doctor, my name is Dr. Jack Shepherd. Listen, I've been observing them since the crash. I really don't think they need any medical assistance." He looked up and saw Jack standing there. He was talking to the doctors all professional like. Sawyer couldn't help but feel a twang of jealousy at the fact that Jack could do something for her that he couldn't. She turned and looked too.

A moment later they were cleared to go. Sawyer was left with his mouth hanging open. He watched as Kate jumped into the Doc's arms and thanked him. Sawyer felt that jealousy creeping up on him again. Damn that doctor, he always upstaged him no matter what Sawyer did! He was beginning to remember why he hated that guy so much.

And then she was back by his side, and suddenly all of the thoughts of hate and rage disappeared. She had a way of doing that for him. He moved to lead her towards the door, knowing that the very fact that they were standing in a public place was dangerous right now. He stopped when he saw a hand extended in his direction. He looked up at the face and saw the doc holding his hand out to him. Sawyer hesitated, wondering what he was trying to do here.

"I'm not trying to poison you, I promise." The man said with a smile. Sawyer considered this comment and finally rendered his hand. The handshake was strong and just as Sawyer was about to break it off Jack pulled him in closer. This made Sawyer slightly nervous, but by now he knew that this man meant no harm to either of them. Then he said something that made Sawyer nearly get sentimental.

"Take care of her, she needs you." It was the confirmation that he needed. This meant that Jack had given up the fight and was surrendering his hold on Kate. He was telling Sawyer that he trusted him to take care of this person who they both clearly cared about.

"Thanks doc." He said with the first sincere smile he had given to this person ever.

"I owe you one." Was what he said next. Sawyer knew he was talking about their little chat in the jungle before his departure. He saw in Jack's face just how much that information had meant to him. Sawyer wasn't one to help people out very often, but he knew that a man would never reach his full potential without the knowledge of his father's love for him. Sawyer knew this from his own personal experience. No matter how much he had hated the doctor, he could never deny him the right to a full and fulfilled life. It just wouldn't rest well on his conscience, and he had enough regrets in his life.

He watched as Jack walked away. No, he wouldn't turn them in. They had reached a silent agreement. Although the man had put him through hell on the island, he had to admit that he was glad to have known him.

He felt Kate begin to pull away and walk towards the door. He was happy to be following her out of there, but something stopped him in his tracks.

"Wait a minute there." He reached for her hand and stopped her from moving any further.

It was the kid, the one from the island. He was being handled by some asshole of a doctor. Damn if he was gonna let anybody hurt that kid. That was a weak spot with him. He turned to Kate and noticed that she was watching the kid too. She started towards him, intending to stop it on her own. But this wasn't going to happen on Sawyer's watch. He tightened his grip on her hand for a moment. She turned to him and he felt himself smile despite himself. She was back, the girl he knew. Her eyes were sparkling with the determination of saving that child.

"You stay right here." He said with force and pointed to the ground beneath their feet. He knew he had to be rough with her or she would follow him just to spite him. That was her way and that was why he loved her. "I'm gonna go take care of this." He let go of her hand, but with reluctance. He was nervous about leaving her alone here and continued to watch her as he headed down the hallway towards the boy. When he was confident enough that she wasn't going to wander off he turned his attention to the asshole doctor.

"Hey there Dr. Evil!" Sawyer proclaimed proudly. The man turned to look at him. The boy looked up at him too. He smiled at the kid, hoping to not frighten him too much. "Leave the kid alone will ya?"

It was a simple request. Unfortunately the doctor just didn't want to listen to it.

"Are you his daddy?" The doctor asked with attitude. One thing Sawyer hated was when people took an attitude with him. Only _he _was allowed to do that after all. He moved up real close to the man and allowed his rage to show in his eyes. No one was allowed to hurt a woman or child ever, this was a rule that Sawyer was not reluctant to enforce.

"Maybe I am. Or maybe I'm just a concerned bystander who's looking' for a reason to trek on up to your bosses office." He paused for emphasis. The doctor seemed intimidated enough. "You chose."

Sawyer moved back and leaned against a nearby wall, waiting for his answer. He watched the kid, who seemed to have renewed confidence. He was smiling up at him. Eventually the doctor let the boy go. Sawyer smiled as the kid ran over to him. He was thankful the kid didn't hug him though, that would have been a little too touchy feely for him to handle.

"Thanks doc, I appreciate it." He smiled and flashed his middle finger at the bastard. He dropped it as soon as the kid looked up at him though.

"Thanks Sawyer." The kid said with a grin. Sawyer couldn't help but smile back. There was something about kids, they just got to him. He knelt down in front of the kid and reached his hand out, mirroring Jack's actions from earlier. The kid quickly responded and shook his hand. The hand seemed so tiny in his own.

"Its been a pleasure knowing ya kid, but I have to ask ya to do a favor for me." He watched as the kid nodded his head eagerly. "Me and Kate, well we have to go on a little trip. And we don't want anyone to know who we are when we leave. So if anybody asks about us or if you saw us and where we went, I'm gonna need ya to tell a little fib. Could ya do that for me?"

He knew the kid would say yes.

"Sure I can." Walt nodded. "Where are you going?" Good question, Sawyer thought. Even if he knew he wouldn't tell the kid though.

"Well now, we don't know yet. But its important that you don't call us Kate and Sawyer anymore, ya hear?"

"OK" Walt agreed instantly. He let go of the boys hand and stood.

"Thanks Webster. Have a nice life." He winked at the kid and walked off. That kid had been one of the few people on that island who he trusted. He would miss him.

Sawyer turned back to where he would find Kate and noticed her watching something. She was staring into one of the rooms. He slowly approached her, hoping to all hell that she wasn't getting them into any trouble. When he got closer he saw what she was looking at, it was the pregnant girl and her little runt. By the look on Kate's face he knew that she was feeling better. It was the same expression that she got whenever she would sit on the beach and stare out into the ocean. She never knew it, but he was always watching her. It was the most peaceful he had ever seen her, and she looked the same way now.

He crept up until he was right behind her. He fought the urge to put his arms around her and pull her close. This just wasn't the time to try a move like that, no matter how beautiful she looked.

"Is everything ok?" She asked him, sensing his presence behind her. She turned to face him. It was the first time he'd heard her speak directly to him all day. But it was the Kate that he knew now, he could tell by the way she asked the question. There was so much heart behind it, so much concern for the kid.

"Kids just fine." He replied and took her hand in his. "Come on, we'd better get outta here."

As he led her outside he let himself feel the night air and the feeling of her hand in his. He also felt her completely tense up on him. _Oh hell, not again. _He thought. He turned to her and saw that she was worried about something. He knew what it was. He was worried too, but he knew that they would make it somehow.

He made a daring move. He lifted her chin so that she would look straight at him for once. He'd always wanted her too but never had the balls to do anything about it. Now he didn't care what she thought, he cared about her and wanted to see her.

"Don't sweat it Freckles." He used the familiar nickname, trying to get her to see that the tragedy of earlier was over now. "I've got us covered." She seemed to loosen up at that moment. Her eyes had their sparkle again and she smiled the smile that made it all worthwhile for him.

And they continued with their familiar banter from there on out. The flirtations were like home for both of them now, and as long as they had their quips and sarcasms they knew that they could go on.

Sawyer felt her becoming more and more loose with him, more and more accepting of the chemistry that existed between them. Her hesitation was gone and she had put her trust completely in him, something he knew was probably the hardest thing she'd ever done. He wasn't exactly the most trustworthy guy ever, but when it came to the people he loved he would give everything up to keep them safe and happy. And she saw that in him, something barely anyone had ever seen.

Sawyer came to the island a criminal. From the start his piss poor attitude had gotten him into trouble with the more optimistic crowd on the island. It wasn't new for him, but it was miserable as usual. Sawyer may have come off as being angry but more then anything he was miserable with himself and the fact that his life had turned out the way it had.

And then she came into his life and the shit had hit the fan. And for awhile he had no idea what to do with this person who could read through his quips and remarks and see him for the person who he was. He'd pushed her away and she'd come back. He'd run away, and then went back to get her.

And now he'd finally let her in and found himself loving every minute he spent with her.

It was the best decision he'd ever made in his life, to get into that bar fight. And then to get on that damn piece of crap airplane. The best decision yet.


End file.
